


Something To Believe In

by Crawlingsins



Category: Ragnarok Online, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bad Puns, Eventual Romance, F/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Is Not Frisk, Slow Burn, Suspense, humans and monsters at war, mild violence, monster discrimination, monster friendship, no knowledge of RO is needed to read or understand the fic, reader is a priestess, reader is female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-19 23:23:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 36,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5984128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crawlingsins/pseuds/Crawlingsins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the world of Rune-Midgard, it's kill or be killed. The age-old war between humans and monsters spans the entire land, showing no signs of ending.</p>
<p>But what truths about the endless conflict lay buried beneath the sands of time?</p>
<p>One foolhardy priestess is determined to find out. And she may have some help from a few unlikely comrades along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Doubts

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the world of Ragnarok Online, but no knowledge of the game is required to read the fic. Essentially, it is a fantasy-based world in a time of knights, wizards, etc. And the setting seemed appropriate for the UT characters. This will be a plot-heavy action/adventure type of fic and span likely many chapters. I have a lot planned for it and I hope you will enjoy it. :)

**Something To Believe In**

\---Chapter One: _Doubts_ \---

"In this world, it's kill or be killed."

Those are the first words that every novice - every young child aspiring to be something in the world, whether a wizard, knight, blacksmith, or countless other paths - are told when they take their first steps outside of the protective bubble they were raised in. And their first steps into learning a craft or way of life that will shape the person they will become.

And ultimately, their first steps into the war.

It is a startling blow of reality to young hearts and minds with big dreams. Growing up is something that has to happen quickly once reality bears its steel fangs with the coming of age. Life is no longer fetching milk from the market for mother, or playing with other children at the fountain in the center of town. Life no longer embraces careless laughter and smiles that cannot be dimmed, dancing jigs to the accompaniment of the bard's music in the square, nor warm thoughts of a bright and endless future that once shone brilliantly with potential unmarred.

In an instant, the candle is snuffed. Your path dictates the part you will play for all of humankind, whether you will learn to fight head-on with a weapon or shoot arrows from a distance, conjure magic spells of fire and ice, or be the support of others with healing and prayer to the Gods.

Once you have reached age, you will enter the fight. You will be dragged into a quarrel and conflict of which there has been no end.

The war of humans and monsters.

It has been a battle lasting for centuries---perhaps longer. Even children knew the basics, but things like "war" always sound so far away from carefree minds, like words on the wind that dispersed in nothing more than a fading whisper.

And then, those words are spoken by grim lips to rooms full of bright, young faces.

Kill or be killed.

Fight monsters, or face death.

Bring pride and joy to your family, or bring shame and loss.

\--------

The spell faded until the glow of green disappeared from around the young woman's feet, leaving her panting slightly as she was clapped on the shoulder by another who was similarly dressed in a habit of dark purple.

"Didn't even break a sweat after that, did you?"

The second woman managed a wry smile, a shine from the stained glass window above casting a halo of light over the crown of her head. "Almost did. Think I've got the hang of it, though."

Her sister companion rolled her eyes, shooting her a look with a shake of her short blonde hair. "That brought the other new priests and priestesses to their knees from the strain of the magic the first time. And you're still standing. Without even looking that tired."

That made her glance away with a sheepish quip to her lips and a shrug of one shoulder. "I just don't show my exhaustion as clearly as other people?"

The other priestess raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Well, I guess you'll finally get to show that off for real tomorrow, won't you?"

She instantly stilled, the conversation she had with the head of the church division earlier still fresh in her mind and filling her with dread all over again.

"You're so luuuuucky," the other sister whined dramatically, giving her arm a playful little shove before walking her way past the pews and out of the church. "I wish the head of the Prontera Knights would ask for _me_ as a party member."

The doors shut soon after and the remaining priestess sighed heavily, barely suppressing the urge to bury her face in her hands and scream.

She would have loved to turn around and declare that her fellow sister could gladly take her place, but she knew it wouldn't work. There was no way to undo what was already put into motion, no matter how much she wished that she could.

Feeling a lot less distracted from the news now that her training session was over for the night, she walked out of the main church hall and slowly made her way back to the dormitories where the trainees stayed, her mind and body both heavy with unease. She barely registered the familiar path that brought her back to her small room until she was safely inside and the door clicking softly closed behind her.

She spent most of her young life in this very room and in this very church. And as of the following day, she would have no choice but to leave.

Quelling the urge to lash out at something, she snatched a history book from the old bookcase on the left side of the room and flopped down upon her bed. A little research might help her to clear her mind, she thought.

When she opened the book and first ran her eyes over the painted images of various bright-eyed novices on the introduction page, she felt a surge resentment course through her.

She was still bitter after all this time.

The words "kill or be killed" were hard to swallow back when she was a novice. For a young girl who dreamed of being an archer that could participate in tournaments and win money for her struggling family, being told that her arrows would be shot with the intent to injure and kill living beings was like a stab in her _own_ chest with the points of several sharp arrows.

Abhored, she abandoned her dreams before they ever had hope of taking flight. And it only left her one path to take in a war-strewn world---the path the boys in town teased that only the "cowards" who were afraid of war and fighting monsters would take.

Her reluctant ambition shifted to becoming an acolyte, studying for priesthood. Though equipped potentially for battle with a mace or staff, they were not fighters---they were supporters and healers. Chances were that they would never come face to face with a monster as long as they stayed at their place in back of their party. It was the safe haven - the way to do one's part for the war without lifting a finger in violence, if you so wished.

It was her only choice, as far as she was concerned. And although it was not her original aspiration, she still put her all into the craft and into learning the finer points of healing and supportive magic. She studied hard, she practiced harder, and she was good at what she did.

Priesthood was bestowed upon her just a few short months ago. And now, out of the fledgling stages, there was nothing to hold her back from entering the fight. In fact, there was even a lack of priests accompanying most parties. Many groups stocked up on healing pots and other magic potions to rely on, with no choice but to compensate for being without the assistance of a priest or supportive party member.

But even with that knowledge, she held back.

Those boys that teased her all those years ago might have had it right from the start - she was, in all essence, a coward. Going to war was not a pleasant thought, even when she was no longer a child. She avoided and declined any and all requests for her to join a party. She stayed holed up in the Prontera Parish, studying spells that she learned more out of an effort to pretend she was doing _something_ of merit and worth, rather than wasting away in fear of facing the destination that her path determined from the start.

Thankfully, Prontera was a very large city in Rune-Midgard, and for a long time, no one dwelt too strongly on one priestess's reluctance to group up and head into the fray. The streets were always bustling with merchants lining the white marble pathways, visitors from all over the world, and endless chatter and liveliness. The church itself was situated in the far top right corner of the city, away from the crowds and nestled into a quiet little niche that was actually quite tranquil. They were rarely bothered by guilds, parties, or travelers.

Today, however, her good fortune of being overlooked by the world outside of the church withered and crumpled up. Father Reinhar, the head of her current division, approached her after the evening prayer session in the west wing of the church. And the glass container that she had boxed herself within was promptly shattered.

 _"You cannot avoid this forever,"_ his voice repeated in her mind, making a frown curl upon her lips. _"You are one of our best and our brightest. The Pronterean Guard has specifically sent a request for you. Sir Malcolm of the Lord Knights division will come to escort you tomorrow at mid-morning. You'd best prepare."_

All night long, she had been stewing to herself about it, dreading the inevitable. Father Reinhar was not unkind. She was being selfish to think that he could really just let her stay here indefinitely, hiding from the truth of the world and the expectations of humankind at war.

Her mind raced as she fingered through a few pages of the large tome resting upon her legs, the light of the candle at her bedside flickering with each airy burst of a page turn. She had hoped that looking up information on the war might invigorate her or motivate her for the cause in some way and help her come to terms with her role.

But all the texts did was confuse the young woman more and more.

Grandfather had once told her stories when she was very young, about a time even long before his time that his grandfather told him about, when humans and monsters co-existed quite peacefully and lived comfortably on equal footing in all of Rune-Midgard. And yet, every piece that she had read about the war and how the war started was very... one-sided.

Monsters instigated--

Monsters caused--

Monsters betrayed--

Monsters _killed_ \--

It left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. She had never met a monster, but the way that humans were depicted to be the absolute victims in everything that she read made it sound as though there were pieces of the puzzle that were missing.

Six heroes, the text claimed, had their souls stolen by the monsters. And supposedly the monsters needed seven souls of these human "heroes" in order to shatter the barriers that kept them out of human cities and towns--

And in order to eradicate humanity from the surface of Rune-Midgard once and for all.

It should have terrified her more than it actually did. With every turn of a page, her questions only piled further and further with a tense furrow in her brow. These books were fashioned to make monsters sound nothing at all like the ones her grandfather once spoke of. Could he have been telling her tales just to make her continue to smile with childlike innocence, or was there actually much more to this story?

She had an unprecedented, but burning desire to find out. Until she knew that truth, how could she possibly stand in battle and support slaughter that she could see no reason for?

The solution became apparent: if she wanted to know, she was going to have to find out for herself.

The book snapped closed with the finality of that thought. Sir Malcolm would not be finding her attendance in the morning to support his ranks. By then, she hoped to be far away from here.

...Although she was not certain where to go from here. Where did one even _start_ to look for answers that were probably more ancient than the ground they walked upon? She had never really been far from Prontera's protective stone walls and knew nothing of the world beyond aside from what she read in books.

This was foolish. The logical part of her mind was berating her relentlessly. She did not have a party to travel with and it would be incredibly dangerous for a priest to set out on such a wild mission alone. Since becoming an acolyte, she had never once passed the tall, imposing walls that surrounded Prontera. She was well-practiced in magic, but if she were to encounter monsters and get into a fight, she did not even know how to defend herself in such a situation.

And yet, even knowing how crazed and utterly rash such a careless course of action was, she had the feeling that it was the right path for her to take. She could not trust other people to give her the answers she was seeking.

Truthfully, she... had not felt this strongly about anything since the time she longed to reach her dream of becoming an archer. And that wistful thought hardened her resolve like nothing else could.

Tonight, she would prepare. And tomorrow, at daybreak, she was going to finally step foot into the world she had stubbornly hidden from.

But she was going to do it on her own terms.

\----------

Sleep had been fleeting, at best. She laid awake most of the night, heart pounding and refusing to calm.

Down at her bedside, she had already packed some essentials for the trip, including a map, food, blue gems needed for certain specific, high-level spells, and as many blue magic potions as she could confiscate from the cellar without arousing too much suspicion. They were expensive to make and stealing had not been on her list of things to do in order to prepare for this venture of hers, but if her magic depleted, she needed a way to regenerate it in an emergency.

She hoped that Father Reinhar and the rest of the church would forgive her---not only for the potions, but also because her behavior was surely not going to reflect well upon the Prontera Parish as a whole. She was abandoning her call of duty to set out on an insane quest to find answers to something that may not have an answer at all.

And worse yet, she was throwing herself into a world of monsters that she had never encountered. She learned very little about them from books. If they were as bloodthirsty as people claimed, she was as good as throwing her life away.

But it was not just fear that was making her heart thump incessantly within her breast now. She was filled with a strange sense of determination.

It had been a long time since she had a goal and something to reach for. She may have given up on her dream, but the time for running away was over.

Grandfather was a wise man. He must have wanted her to know that the whole truth was still waiting out there. And if monsters lived much longer than humans, then perhaps the turtle monster that his grandfather's father once knew was still out there somewhere.

If books failed to give her an answer... maybe he could. That is, if she could _find_ him in the vast expanse of Rune-Midgard.

His name was not something she could recall, but the thought alone added more to the budding hope that was beginning to flower and bloom within her. She was not naive enough to believe that she could ultimately affect the war of humans and monsters, no matter what sort of answers laid in wait. But at the same time, it could offer potential insight to the heart of the conflict.

Understanding was the first step toward change.

Why be enlisted to fight for something she did not believe in when she could search for something _to_ believe in?

Pulling herself up from the simple cot, she swung her legs over the side and stood, long white dressing gown dusting the floor as she went to retrieve her outfit from where she laid it over a chair earlier that night. She changed in a swift manner, situating herself into the rich purple habit accented in gold that female members of the priesthood were issued. Long slits ran up either side of the dress---for mobility's sake in battle, not that she ever hoped to find herself in need of the space---and the long sleeves ended in dusty rose-red cuffs with gold trim that she fitted comfortably over her wrists. Finally, she pulled on the dark thigh-high leggings as far up as they would go and stepped into the waiting flats on the floor, quickly slipping the buckles into place.

Her heart was still hammering away in her breast, quickening its thump with every passing minute. This was really it, wasn't it? She was leaving Prontera Parish---leaving Prontera altogether. And she had nothing to her name but an arc wand and a bag full of books and potions.

She hesitated only briefly before she reached for her arc wand where it was leaning against the bureau by the chair and wrapped her fingers around the grip near the top. The amethyst jewel beneath the golden arch on the crown gleamed in the dim light. The item had been a gift granted for successfully passing the tests to priesthood and she had not practiced nearly as much magic with it as she had her trusty old staff, but... she may need the extra magic power at some point.

With one last look around the simplistic room she had taken residence in for many years, she sighed, picked up the satchel with her necessities, and turned to the door.

"I'm sorry..." were the last whispered words that she let hang in the air before the door shut softly after her.

\-------------

"Good morning, good morning to all! Fresh milk and eggs! Get them fresh! Would you like some milk and eggs, dearie?"

Politely, she waved off the portly saleswoman and her baskets of wares and bid a quiet 'no thank you' as she shuffled by with an awkward, forced smile.

It was just passed daybreak and the energy in Prontera was already starting to rise. The priestess made haste through the streets as merchants began to set up shop and adventurers stumbled out of inns and taverns with boisterous greetings and the clattering of armor and weapons.

She kept her head bowed slightly down, not wanting to attract any further attention. The last thing she wanted right now was to be identified---no matter how unlikely that was.

Her tactic carried her all the way to the south gates of the town. The two guards at their posts there gave her a once-over, but said nothing as she walked right on by them and out into the morning light. The sun's touch cascaded over acres of green meadows with a dabbling of trees and across sparkling streams as far as the eyes could see, stealing her breath away.

It was beautiful.

The beginnings of a smile tugged at her lips as she stepped out into the world beyond Prontera.

"Hey, wait up! I got this one! It's mine!"

"You're too slow! Hahaha!"

Her eyebrows raised in surprise as a two young boys dressed in novice gear dashed in front of her, chasing what looked like a fluffly white monster with rabbit ears. One boy fell face-first into the grass, the other one continuing to laugh as he brandished a small knife down upon the white creature and---

She looked away, wincing from the sound that followed.

"Yeeeeah! My experience and my spoils!" the boy boasted.

Not wanting to see or hear any more, she shuffled herself into gear and hurried past the pair, feeling her stomach twist with discomfort in their wake.

There was no way that tiny little monster had been hurting anyone. It was running for its life!

But the children didn't know any better, she realized, feeling a wave of cold wash over her. Just like when she was handed a bow and instructed how to shoot arrows at a helpless monster, those novices had surely been instructed similarly by their elders.

From such a young age, humans were being taught that monster lives were not valuable in any way. Even harmless ones like that adorable rabbit-like creature were slaughtered without a passing thought.

Surely she could not be the only one who thought that there was something horribly wrong with this?

That thought festered uncomfortably in her mind as she made her way across the grasslands. Numerous small creatures popped out from behind bushes or trees, or even roamed in the open, looking completely carefree. A monster she recognized as a "poring", which seemed little more than a pink blob with a cute face on it, approached her, burbling quietly with its movements. The priestess stared as it brushed the side of her shoe with a jelly-like bloop and then continued bouncing right by.

She didn't understand their behavior at all. It was as though none of these monsters even realized that humans were dangerous or gleefully driving knives and other weapons into them.

Well, the rabbit creature had seemed frightened enough, but...

Chewing at her bottom lip, she stopped, pulled back the top of her satchel, and tugged the map free from between two thin books. In her rush to leave before the Pronteran Guard showed up at the church's front doors, she hadn't considered where she was going to go first.

Her eyes darted over the large lay of lands and terrain as she unfolded the large piece of parchment. Various fields, dungeons, and towns were marked with bold names. It was a map she had looked at quite a few times during her stay at the parish, but she had never actually been anywhere beyond Prontera. At least, not aside from a brief trek past the east exit to be instructed on how to create holy water in one of her lessons. That was hardly a notable excursion.

Tracing a finger over various paths, she headed slowly west and then north, east... and her finger paused on the place labeled "Geffen".

Geffen was known as the City of Magic. It had one of the biggest libraries and information centers in all of Rune-Midgard, from what she aware. And that would have been her first stop if she were looking for information on spells, but would it be as plentiful for information on the war and of monsters in general?

She didn't know. But it was as good a place as any to start.

After carefully re-creasing the map in a series of folds, she tucked it back into her satchel and headed off to her right. West would be the direction to go first, according to the map.

She supposed that she could have spoken with the Kafra service back in Prontera, but pushed the thought aside. The Kafra company was useful and provided a number of services, from banks, to inventory holding, and warping to and from major cities.

But they were also expensive. And she did not have very much money with her. It would be better to go on foot than the blow all of her zeny on one convenient move from point A to point B. And besides, once she got to Geffen, she could set her own location for warping there in the future. That would save on money significantly.

For now, she just had to survive the trip.

...Easier said than done, but she wouldn't have been here at all if she wasn't prepared for the challenge.

\------------

_Zing~ Zang~ Zling Zling~_

The noise permeating the air provoked the priestess to raise her hands and cover her ears, a grimace pulling on her features.

It was probably _supposed_ to be music, if she judged solely by the strange instrument that the creatures were playing with their numerous sets of arms. However, these large-antennae bearing, tall insects hopping about and pulling the bands of twine with a flourish across the contraptions in their arms clearly did not know how to carry a tune.

And the grasshopper-like monsters were _everywhere_. Within plain sight, she could see at least a dozen, all playing makeshift violins with a screeching clarity that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

They certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves, milling about with a little leaf parasol held over their heads while they played their "music" for all in the field to hear. She really wished she had a pair of earmuffs with her, but turning back was no option for the priestess at this point.

These guys would probably be the least of her worries and irritations along the way. Like the monsters she came across further back, they were content to bounce right around by her and around her, never once lifting a finger aggressively in her direction.

For all that humans claimed about how bloodthirsty and merciless monsters were, she had yet to encounter a single one that posed any kind of threat. And to think that she could have learned that years ago, if she just had the courage to leave the city in the first place...

Seclusion in the church had not been the smartest choice, in retrospect, but there was no taking it back now. She would have to go from learning by the aid of books to learning by doing and experiencing. A stark change, indeed.

The off-key notes continued to barrage her ears for quite some time, as the grasshopper monsters appeared to be all over the area. She continued west resolutely, hoping beyond hope that she would not have an incessant ringing in her ears once she was finally away from the musical creatures.

After what felt like forever, the ear-splitting tones of the violins finally began to recede and left the calming rustle of leaves in the wind in their place. She let out a long breath, her steps slowing as a couple of squirrel-like creatures darted across her path, carrying large acorns. She giggled at their playful antics, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

From here, she was to... still head west, she believed. A look at the map would give her a more solid idea of where to--

"You IDIOT."

The priestess froze, her stilled hand poised over the flap of her bag. Her head lifted toward the sound. That voice... it was nearby. She could hear rustling some ten yards away. And it had a raspy, high-pitched tone that definitely didn't sound human.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed."

The ice in her limbs fell further to grip around her insides with those familiar words.

"Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like _this_?"

It was the other voice---what sounded like a child's distressed noise---that set her feet into a blind sprint toward the commotion.

" **DIE**!" the first voice cackled in its shriek-like laughter.

Her legs fumbled in desperation, a horrible feeling twisting in her gut. No---no! She couldn't let that---!

"STOP!" She cried as she lunged through a set of thick bushes, arc wand outstretched in attempt to get between whoever the assailant and the attacked were.

But just as she entered the clearing, there was a burst of red light that reflected in her stunned eyes.

 _Fire_.

The carrier of the first voice---which appeared to be a small but volatile golden flower?---unwrapped its vines from around a small human child with a cry of pain as it fled the scene, nursing a flaming leaf and smoke trailing behind its fleeing form. It did not turn back.

She was bewildered. Had the child cast magic...?

Swallowing, the priestess tried to find her voice, addressing the small form that was picking themselves up from the ground with a note of caution. "Are you--"

"My child, are you all right?"

Her words died in her throat, shock overtaking her yet again as her neck craned back to look up. Out from the right side, a large white creature with horns and adorning a dress of soft cream and purple emerged from the foliage, arms outstretched to the fallen child. She seemed to all but float over to them with a swift grace despite her towering size, and the gentleness in her actions as she lifted the brunette human into her arms was obvious through the tender way she cradled the child like a precious treasure.

"There, there. I will heal you."

And heal them, she did. The warm glow of the magic was very familiar to the priestess. And to further her surprise, the human in monster woman's arms giggled and wrapped their arms around her front.

"Mama! I'm okay. I'm sorry I went too far again!"

"You are quite the handful, Frisk," the monster admonished, smiling fondly at the child. "But I am glad that you were not hurt. Please do not scare me like that again."

The tender scene tugged on the priestesses heartstrings. How in the world did these two know each other? Surely a monster child could not just choose to look like a human child.

"Hm...?"

She jumped slightly in her half-caught position in the bushes when the large monster turned its warm red eyes upon her, their mouth falling agape.

"Oh, dear. It seems we have... company."

The human child twisted in her furry arms to squint at the priestess. Almost immediately, their features laced with distrust as they gripped the monster lady more tightly. "Don't hurt my ma!"

"I...u-um," she stammered hoarsely, looking between the two suspicious sets of eyes. "I heard a threat and a child's call and... I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

The monster lady's features seemed to turn a notch less severe as she sighed. "Everything is fine now. Please... be on your way."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is that... is the child..."

"Human?" the goat-like monster finished. "Yes, Frisk is a human child. I have not harmed them. I found them some time ago."

The child called Frisk continued to frown at her and the priestess shifted uncomfortably as she looked between them. "Found them? But... shouldn't they be returned to their family?"

"They were abandoned. Left starving. Left to die." Every word dripped from the monster woman's mouth like venom. She held the child closer. They, in turn, clung to her large paw. "I decided to raise them myself. Please do not try to force them back to... your kind."

The amount of distaste in the last couple of words was enough to make the priestess wince. "I'm sorry. I don't plan to separate you or anything. I just... forgive me, but I have never seen such a thing."

Frisk piped up from the lady's arms, "That's because people don't understand! Monsters can be nice! But you gotta treat someone nice if you wanna be treated nice."

The words hit hard. A child---a mere kid that was not even of age to become a novice, understood this world more than _she_ did. More than she ever tried to. Shame lit her cheeks pink.

"I am confused, as well," the deeper voice of the goat monster spoke up. "You have... you have not attacked me. You have not even tried."

The priestess brushed a few stray leaves and twigs from her habit. "I don't like killing and I don't like war," she stated simply. "I left Prontera because I don't want to get involved. I'm going to... find my own path, I guess."

To her surprise, the monster woman chuckled demurely. "Goodness, you are indeed a strange one. But I am glad. It gives me hope... hope that this pointless war can end one day."

Her smile was... encouraging. This was a chance, wasn't it? A chance to learn _more_ , she realized. She licked her lips.

"About that... do you think you could tell me what you know about the war? I'm trying to get to the bottom of--"

"Shhh!"

The priestess blinked as she was hushed, the child holding a finger to their lips. "What is--"

"SHHH!" they hissed louder. "I think someone is coming!"

And in the silence that followed, she could hear it. Several pairs of armored feet were approaching from somewhere north of their location. They were not close, but they were not far, either.

"We must go," the goat monster declared swiftly to the child. She raised apologetic ruby-colored eyes to the priestess. "I am sorry. Perhaps we will meet again sometime. Please take care."

"You t--" before she could finish, the two of them had disappeared.

The goat woman was clearly a skilled magician, monster or not.

With her energy suddenly depleted and mind racing like crazy, the priestess folded down to her knees, gripping her arc wand with both hands to steady herself.

She... just crossed paths with a _boss_ monster and lived to tell the tale.

And said boss monster had warm eyes, healing powers, was completely non-aggressive, and... cared for and protected a human child.

She needed those answers more than ever.


	2. Jester From Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader has a bad time. Enter Sans. :)

The priestess's first run-in with an aggressive monster did not end spectacularly. In fact, it ended quite poorly, leaving her nursing several burns courtesy of her healing magic and having to sew up a small section of the front flap of her habit where a small, oblong hole was singed right through the fabric.

In her defense, she hadn't expected a tree stump to stand up on stunted little legs and start shooting rains of _fire_ down upon her out of nowhere. And it moved fast for something so short, chasing her quite a ways before she finally lost the wooden menace.

Huffing lightly under her breath as she pulled the final stitch taut to close the tear, she decided to count her blessings.

It was by complete coincidence that she happened to have Sister Sharlea's sewing materials in her bag. The forgetful priestess had left them behind after a lecture a few days ago and she had picked them up with every intention of giving them back. But Sharlea was on leave with a party that was traveling to Alberta, the port city, and was not supposed to return for three more sundowns.

And while she was certainly no expert with the needle and thread, at least the two pieces were joined together again. The damage was fixed. Somewhat.

Right. Blessings.

Tucking the sewing materials back into the bottom corner of the bag, the priestess reached for her arc wand and stood, shouldering her bag with a sigh. The sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon and time was wasting. She had maybe an hour or so left of daylight. And she still did not know where she was going to attempt to sleep for the night.

If she could sleep at all.

Her mind kept returning to the incident with the goat monster and the human child. She was certain that she recognized the monster from _something_ , but she still could not recall what or where. And that in itself was strange, since she was not exactly knowledgeable about the monsters that spanned the world, much less any very specific ones. She was familiar with the undead, but... well, priests were trained for that and they had to know what to expect.

Boss monsters were another story. She heard names of them from boasting people in the Prontera streets from time to time, but she could not put the name to the monsters themselves if she were to meet them up close and personal.

Also, boss monsters were a special breed of monster that were unlike the others. Not only were they often absurdly powerful and able to take down entire parties of humans without much effort, but they were, for all intents and purposes, immortal. When a boss monster fell, the human or humans responsible were granted a surge of power, experience, and special items.

But the boss monster would return, often to its same dwelling. And from what the adventurers and monster hunters laughing drunkenly in the square had claimed, said monsters would "stupidly return to the place of their death, like they want to be found and killed again".

It always struck her as odd, even when she did not understand much about monsters. Why would they not go elsewhere? Why did they come back at all? Were they doomed to die again and again just to allow humans to gloat about felling them?

Thinking of the sweet goat monster being slaughtered made her stomach twist with a wretched sharpness. She hoped that the child and her were both far away and safe by now---and she offered a quick prayer to Odin for their well-being.

Just as the books perplexed her with their lack of answers, thus far, she still felt like every little thing she discovered or learned only piled up her questions more and more. Clearly not all monsters were aggressive, but a fair few of them certainly were and attacked on sight even if you were unthreatening----just as the novices did to the poor rabbit monster outside of Prontera's south gates. What was the difference between them? What made them act differently?

...She was definitely wasting precious time, she realized. And so she set off once more.

The map instructed that she was still to continue west. She followed the slowly-sinking ball of light in the sky in that direction, feeling an odd heaviness start to fill her with each further step she took.

Her resolve and determination to set out on this quest was so sudden that she failed to consider many important things. As the sun receded, the sky would soon darken and she would need to find a place to rest for the night. The fields and trees did not exactly offer shelter and she did not see many options for food once her rations ran short, either.

She had definitely bitten off more than she could chew. But she was too stubborn to turn around and run back to the parish. They would have her sent to the knights at the Chivalry with a thousand apologies and then she would be in a much worse predicament---she would not only have a front row seat to the brutal killing of monsters, but she would be expected to support and heal the ones causing the damage.

Absolutely not. She _refused_.

Knuckles tight around her staff's shaft, she shuffled her feet more quickly.

And just as swiftly as her pace increased, her shoes slowed to a stop, eyes widening at what she could see gleaming in the waning sunlight up ahead.

The Gods appeared to be taking pity on her. There was a run-down hut with a lopsided thatch roof a few yards away, nestled in-between two formidably-sized hills. From what she could see, it looked abandoned.

Of course, she did not know that for sure, but it was a sight for sore eyes---and sore feet. A smile tugged her lips as she started toward it. Even if someone happened to live there, she could barter for a night's stay if necessary. One good thing about being a priest was that their skills were in pretty high demand. Yet another thing to be grateful for, she supposed.

Just a few short feet from the hut, however, she felt something bump into the back of her legs.

"Hm?" She turned around, spotting nothing directly in front of her. "Is someone there?"

A persistent bump brushed the fabric of her habit against the back of her knees again. She looked down. A small creature was there, butting into the back of her legs with what looked like a broken helmet. The priestess's eyebrows raised in surprise.

The monster looked up, meeting her eyes with its little beady orange ones and a curious look on its round, green-skinned face. It sucked a pacifier between its chubby cheeks and dragged what looked like a tiny axe on the ground with one hand.

She tentatively smiled down at the child-like monster. It was rather cute in its little overalls. "Hello there, little one."

For a moment, it didn't respond, merely staring at her. Then, it spit out its pacifier, and to her alarm, started to _wail_ with a piercing shriek of a voice. The priestess nearly fell over.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't meant to upset you!" She frantically rambled a string of apologies as she ducked down, hands hovering awkwardly in the air beside the child, unsure of how to placate it. "Please, calm down! Don't cry! Ohhhhh, nuts! I'm not cut out for this!"

"GWAARR!?"

The priestess froze with a gasp, the roar almost seeming to shake the ground she knelt upon. The little monster waddled away from her mumbling gibberish and she followed its path to a much larger green-skinned monster who was wearing a horned helmet, carrying a much larger axe, and bearing sharp tusks and fangs right at her with a glare that could have lit her on fire.

Uh-oh. That... looked like it must have been the father. And he did not look pleased.

She swallowed, stumbling to her feet and grasping her arc wand for support. "Great, uh, kid you've got!" She piped up mock-cheerfully. "A little green, but I'm sure they're healthy and my---look just like their father, don't they? What a wonderful, beautiful child! You must be very proud!" Her smile was twitching as she forced the words out, slowly backing up with very careful steps as the creature flexed its grip over its axe handle.

The baby tugged its father's loincloth with one beefy green fist and then pointed toward her. It looked like the green monster's features became more menacing yet as it growled louder. " _RRRRGWWARRRRG_!"

"I should, um---I should be... going! Yes, going!" She pointed blindly to her left while discreetly moving in that direction with side-steps. This was a very bad, bad, _bad_ situation. She was going to have to try to outrun the hulking monster, as it did not look as though she had much hope of reasoning with it.

And sure enough, on a bellowing war cry, it charged toward her. Yelping in fright, she spun around and headed back the way she came, inwardly cursing herself for deciding to take so many books and potions in her stupid bag as it collided with her hip noisily on every footfall. It was heavy and there was a very unfriendly monster brandishing an axe behind her and things couldn't get much worse at this point!

Bad thought. She wished she could have taken it back, because the Gods were clearly laughing at her right now.

With a choked inhale of air, she clambered to a stop as no less than _four more_ of the same adult creatures appeared in front of her, blocking her way out with their thick green bodies, axes and wooden shields at the ready to cease her progress.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone!" she pleaded in desperation, backing up as they began to advance. Her eyes darted around for an exit, but there was none to be found---she was trapped. "Please let me go!"

The only answer she was given was a heavy thunk against the back of her head. Her vision swam until everything faded out into endless darkness that swallowed her consciousness.

\-----------

When the priestess came to, it was dark.

Her head pounded with a deep ache as she blinked through the blurred darkness, her eyes slowly adjusting enough to note the faint moonlight streaming down from above and casting just enough light for her to make out her surroundings.

She was definitely outside. The air was chilly with an evening breeze. The house she had seen earlier was to her left. And there was a very tight restraint around her arms, middle, and lower legs---

She was tied to a tree?

Experimentally, she tried to struggle in the thick rope bindings. Her fingers could move, but were out of reach of anything to touch aside from the rough bark of the tree behind her. The rest of her was bound pretty tight. Numerous frustrated grunts escaped her lips as she attempted to loosen the ropes or wiggle even just one limb free, but all she really ended up doing was taxing herself out.

Her silver cross gleamed upon her breast in the moonlight, reminding her that all hope was not lost. She was alive. Thank the Gods for that.

But one look to her right seemed to tell her that she might not be for long. There was a huge steel pot sitting out in the front of the yard with dry wood set beneath it and the implications were disturbingly clear.

She had to get out of here before any of those monsters happened to find out she was awake. There was no telling how much time she had or didn't have. And she didn't fancy the idea of becoming a monster meal.

Biting down on her lip, the priestess twisted her right arm, straining her fingers as far as they could go. The thick twine didn't budge and her arm refused to lift. Her digits could do little more than the grip the grass where she was seated on the ground.

She tried the left arm. She tried the right again. She tried to move her legs.

Nothing. More nothing. And a dull flop where her legs were wrapped and extended in front of her.

Part of her wanted to scream in agitation to release some of the tension, but she was thankfully able to hold herself back from making that huge mistake. The sound that seeped out of her clenched teeth was more like a tiny mouse softly screeching in despair.

How was she going to get out of this mess?

"h u m a n."

Sucking in a tight breath, she slammed her eyes shut and feigned being limp and unresponsive. Gods, she hoped they couldn't hear her heart beating like wildly.

"don't ya know how to greet a new pal?"

Her eyebrows quivered as the unknown being moved and she forced herself not to make a sound---not to even _breathe_. The low-toned speaker stopped in front of her and it was setting her nerves on end. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.

_Please go away. Please go away. Please just **go away**!_

"open your eyes and shake my hand."

...Shake their hand? She made the dim acknowledgement that the voice definitely wasn't the same as the green monsters---though she was certain she had never heard it before, regardless.

But couldn't they see that she was _completely incapable of shaking hands_?

The realization was so bizarre that against her better judgement, she lifted her eyelids up cautiously.

Hunched over in front of her was a grinning face---well, more accurately, a grinning _skull_ , complete with empty eye sockets and a gaping hole where the nose would have been. A bony hand was extended toward her.

Eyes widening in horror, she threw caution to wind and took a deep breath, filling her lungs.

Her intended scream was promptly covered over by the skeletal hand before it could fly out. "MNNNGPPHHM!?" She tried to yank her face away from the offending bones.

"wouldn't do that if i were you, kid. trust me."

Her eyes narrowed at the skeleton clamping her mouth shut.

He chuckled. "guess i haven't given ya any reason to do that, but if you don't want big bad green n' ugly to come back out here, better keep it down. ya get me? i know you're a little _tied up_ , but _tree_ 's a crowd."

The priestess stared, neck craned back against the tree in some effort to keep distance between them. Her mind couldn't really keep track of what was happening anymore. What in the Gods' names was an undead creature doing lurking out in a place like this? Why was he dressed in what looked like a weathered, fur-lined hunter's coat? And weren't the undead all mindless zombies? This skeleton was not only speaking words and understandable, but even seemed to be making fun of her at the same time.

He had eyes now. Flecks of white were peering down at her with bemusement. And when he finally released her mouth, she continued to let it hang open.

"tongue tied up too?" he asked.

How could he lift an eyebrow when he didn't _have_ one? Sputtering, she snapped her jaws shut and tried to find her voice.

Unfortunately, she thoughtlessly blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You're like a jester from hell."

Immediately, she regretted it, flushing to the roots of her hair. That was an awfully rude thing to say. And while she couldn't make out his expression too well, he seemed to be somewhere between holding back from bursting out laughing and looking incredulously stunned. He cleared his throat---did he even have one? "well. nice to meet ya too, i guess. so you wanna _clown_ around or get outta here?"

"Of course I---" She stopped. Her brows furrowed suspiciously. "Wait, you're going to... help me?"

Not that she would _decline_ help when the alternative was basically waiting for an unpleasant death, but she could not see any reason whatsoever for this skeleton to appear and offer assistance in the first place. She definitely didn't know him. And weren't priests pretty much the arch adversaries of the undead?

Maybe this whole thing was just a big joke to him.

"i _jest-er_ thought ya might need a hand." He gave a tug on the rope. With a pop, his bony wrist detached from the hand, leaving the latter hanging on the binds in front of her.

He looked at her with an expectant, cheeky grin and raised bone lids.

She stared dubiously.

"...not even a little giggle? wow. tough as steel, huh." He jabbed his broken limb back against the hanging hand and re-attached it seamlessly, flexing the joints.

"My funny bone is currently cramped up against a tree at a very uncomfortable angle," she informed him through pursed lips.

He didn't even miss a beat, the edge of his wide grin raising higher. "careful. that might leave a _bark_."

This time, by some crazed whim she currently could not comprehend, he coaxed a chuckle out of her with the awful joke.

What were the odds that she would be sitting here bound to a tree while an undead monster cracked jokes and made puns? The whole situation was beyond abnormal---ludicrous, even.

He certainly seemed pleased with himself now. She decided that she didn't really dislike him, even if his jokes were terrible, and even if he ultimately left her here in the end.

That last thought unraveled just as quickly as the ropes that abruptly and inexplicably fell lax around her arms. Stunned, she lifted her hands up and gaped at the skeleton. He just... freed her. She didn't even see him do it.

"thanks for laughing at my joke," he told her with a wink.

Then he vanished. The priestess blinked several times at the spot he was standing in his coat and baggy shorts just prior.

Did she just... imagine all of that? Was she going insane?

A groggy, inhuman noise emitted from the hut nearby and instantly reminded her that she didn't have time to sit here and contemplate her mental state. Reaching down, she made to undo the binds that held her legs together---but those, too, had already been dealt with. The side of her lips quirked up slightly.

Well. Maybe she was going to have to rethink her view of the undead now, too. Whoever or whatever that was, they saw fit to save her life.

Still being as mindful as she could not to attract any undue attention from nearby, she slid her back up the tree slowly, inching her feet around so she could slide out of direct view of the window to the little house on the left. With that much accomplished, she let out a breath. One, two...

The priestess pulled away from the tree and slunk off into the inky darkness, rustling through some tall grass. There was no cry of outrage just yet, but she wasn't going to push her luck. Slow and steady, until she was certain that she was in the clear.

Once the hut was no longer in her line of sight, she broke out into a run. It wasn't until she was completely out of breath and hunched over on her knees in a patch of moonlit grass that she realized a new and pressing problem.

"Oh no..."

Her arc wand. Her bag. She had neither one. And they were probably back in that hut.

Could she really go back? Maybe if she waited until morning, they might step out and then she could grab her things and leave. Or she could try to create a diversion and then gather her items in the confusion--

Oh, who was she kidding? She was screwed, big time. And walking back into that area was like tossing her life down at their feet.

And the strange oddball monster's kindness, as well.

Whining in dismay, she leaned her head down against the ground and arched her arms up behind her head. What was she going to _do_? Could she really retrace her steps all the way back to Prontera and hope that her old staff was still waiting in her room? Another map wouldn't be too hard to find, but all those potions she took already---she couldn't take _more_.

With another strained sound in her throat, she leaned herself over with the intent of flopping onto her back.

But her back hit something solid.

A shriek of fright emerged from the priestess's mouth as she fumbled away with flailing limbs. Her arms raised in some effort to protect herself from any intended blows or attacks, braced for the worst.

Several seconds passed as she held her breath, heart pounding incessantly in her chest. But no blows or assaults came. After another few rapid heart beats, she carefully lowered her arms, peering over them.

Settled on the ground a few feet away from her was the unmistakable craftsmanship of her satchel, standing upright. And a long, familiar rod laid next to it.

"What?" she asked no one in particular. Her eyes looked around the little clearing, but she couldn't see a soul.

Still unsure, she crawled over to her bag and pressed a few fingers into the familiar thick material. It was definitely hers. And there was no explanation as to how it could possibly be here along with her arc wand. If this was a trap, they would have sprung it by now.

...She was too tired to think about this. Perhaps the Gods really were giving her a break. And she was grateful for this turn of events.

Letting out a long, relieved sigh, she tugged the bag and looped the band over her shoulder securely. Then, with the help of the arc wand for support, she got back to her feet.

It was difficult to tell in the dark, but she thought that she recognized the area that she was in now. And the monsters around here did not seem anything more than passive when faced with her presence.

She would sleep here for the night, she decided.

\------------

_Chuchchuckchuckchik!_

"Mnn..." she groaned, kicking a leg out on impulse. Her eyelashes fluttered, but the lids didn't open. The dreamworld still had a firm grasp upon her.

_She glared straight up, hands on her hips._

_How dare that blacksmith think he can sit on top of her two story pile of giant books and taunt her? Why wouldn't he come down and face her like a man? She kicked the teetering tower of texts again. He merely laughed at her, green eyes full of mirth._

_"Where are you gonna hide now? Where's the coward going to run to next if you can't hide behind books anymore?"_

_"I'm not running!" she insisted vehemently._

_His expression instantly shifted to a deep frown, eyes like emerald ice. And from one instant to the next, he jumped down from the book throne and landed perfectly on his feet in front of her, towering over her much shorter form. "You're scared. You were always scared. And lots of people are going to die because you refuse to help. How does that make you feel?"_

_He sneered, tossing back a set of dark bangs from his eyes. She felt an uneasy sensation--- **guilt** \---start to crawl up over her. _

_"It's not... it's not my fault." Her throat felt dry. "They're killing. I can't support--"_

_"You don't like what they do so they deserve to **die**?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "They deserve to bleed to death in numerous groups because you're too busy poking through books to heal the wounded?"_

_"I never said--"_

_"You refused. You left. You abandoned your own people for monsters. For the enemy."_

_"I..."_

_"And what did you find? Was it worth all the lives you could have saved?"_

_She glanced up. He met her eyes imploringly._

_"I still haven't found..." she trailed off, averting her gaze to her feet._

_Silenced stretched until a shadow shifted above her and something creaked ominously. She looked up, but he was gone. And now she could only watch in terror as the giant tower of books leaned precariously toward her and began to fall..._

She awoke with a gasp, blinking wide, unseeing eyes into the bright light. Her chest heaved.

A dream. Just... just a dream. She swallowed.

_Chikchikchick---chuckchik--_

Brows furrowed, she leaned over toward the noise. One of the squirrel-like monsters she had seen the day before was vigorously chewing the side of her bag with large, flat teeth.

"H--Hey! Stop that!" She shoo'd the creature away with an irritated wave of her hand. It gave her a dirty look, but scampered away. Grumbling, she pushed away the hair that had fallen into her eyes and sat up.

Still definitely alive. That was a plus. It didn't seem like anything had attacked her in her sleep or made off with her things, either. Double plus.

Brushing a hand through the tangled mess of her hair, she reached for her satchel and pulled it over. Her fingers ran over the nibbled edges of the side. It was a little frayed, but no real worse for wear.

Breakfast sounded good about now and her stomach chimed in agreement with a rumble. She had not eaten anything since the hasty breakfast she had before she left Prontera. Before getting nourishment, though, she ought to decide where she was headed today and if she could make it to Geffen in a day's time or not. She was a little set back as it was, having gone to previous terrain to spend the night.

A course of action that she definitely wouldn't take _back_ , but it was still a hindrance to her progress.

She opened the flap on the front of the bag and plucked the map out with two fingers. The quarter loaf of bread nestled inside was too enticing to pass up when her eyes fell upon it and she nabbed that as well. It was crusty and definitely a little stale now, but she was hungry and not going to complain. Ripping a piece off with her teeth, she chewed it thoughtfully as she folded the map open in her lap.

Hopefully she could find away around that area with the green-skinned monsters. That was probably her priority at this point. And judging from where she was now, that was probably around...

Her pointer finger rested on the parchment and moved west again as she eyeballed the details on the map. One area there looked like it might have been where that hut and the two hills were, but... she couldn't tell for certain. A lot of the the parts looked the same!

Ravenously, she bit off another chunk of bread and twirled her finger around, looking for an alternate path from where she was now. West, east, northwest, southeast, south and west...

There was none. If she wanted to go another route, she would have to head all the way back to Prontera and take the east gate out. That would have even led her to Geffen more quickly than the path she took. But as of right now, she was nestled almost right between them. Going back would be another day's worth of travel for nothing.

Would that really be a smart idea or not?

Mumbling in indecision, she tore another bit of bread and looked over the path again. Maybe if she started from Geffen and worked her way out from there, something might pop out.

Her finger followed that thought, poising over the tower in the center of Geffen's circular-structured city. She moved her finger east of there, across a bridge, and further yet.

The moving digit suddenly stilled. A piece of bread fell from her parted mouth and hit the map with a sharp plop.

There were words written over a part of the map. And they were definitely not her own writing. The garish, clumsy letters were all lowercase. It was handwriting that she didn't recognize.

The priestess read the message aloud to herself, her tone completely bewildered. "If it's answers ya want, try here."

Her heart skipped a beat.

 _Answers_.

But... who even knew about her self-imposed mission besides her? Perhaps the goat monster had an inkling of what she wanted to find out about, but what were the odds that she would appear randomly and write a mysterious message on her map? Pretty much zero.

This was eerie, to say the least. And who was to say she could trust some person or even non-person that confiscated her map and wrote cryptic messages on it? The green, axe-wielding monsters didn't seem smart or learned enough in human language to set an elaborate trap like this. And she couldn't think of anyone that would want to mess around with her by--

Wait.

There was one enigma, she realized. That monster she was still not quite sure if she had dreamed up or not. The undead skeleton with the goofy grin and bad jokes that could disappear apparently at will.

But what reason would he have to fool around with her map? He didn't know anything about her, even if he did save her inexplicably. It just didn't seem likely.

Frustrated, she stared at the writing, as if the truth would just pop out at her. It didn't.

She let her eyes finally take in the area that had been marked, swiveling down to focus on the bold name etched in elegant script beneath it.

Glast Heim.

Something tugged on the corner of her mind, but nothing surfaced. The area didn't look familiar at a glance. And it wasn't far from Geffen, either, but...

The real question was, could she honestly trust some arcane instructions left to her by a completely unknown source?

Hah. Only an _idiot_ would do that.

But she was desperate for a direction to go---and now she had a potential one, however outlandish its appearance was.

It wouldn't be the first time she had done something stupidly reckless, at any rate.

She popped the remaining bread into her mouth.

Glast Heim, huh... perhaps she would pay it a visit---- _after_ she went to Geffen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a sketch that I did of Priestess!Reader and Sans in this AU: http://crawlingsins.tumblr.com/post/139245439806/visual-referencesketch-of-the-reader-protagonist
> 
> Thanks for reading, everyone, and I hope you will stay tuned for more! Feedback is greatly appreciated and fills me with DETERMINATION!


	3. Shadows of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader meets someone from her past in the City of Magic, encounters a new monster outside of the city, and stumbles upon a revelation she was not prepared for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Optional Background Music for this chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp2uA2UwSdQ (Theme of Geffen)

The remaining distance to Geffen was not nearly as far as the priestess surmised from the path she had marked on her map. It was late afternoon when she crossed the long bridge that stretched toward the circular city.

Geffen was smaller than the intimidating grandeur of Prontera, but there was a definite charm of magic all around the vicinity as she came near the eastern entrance to the city. And standing tall was the most notable structure---at the very center of the city was a tower. She had seen the top of it from quite a ways back.

Although she did not know that much about Geffen and the other famous landmarks and cities of Rune-Midgard, history lessons throughout her study as an acolyte and a priest were unavoidable. She had never traveled to said locations, but she knew at least some facts about them.

The Magician Guild was located in Geffen - which was all too appropriate for a city that was known as the "City of Magic". Novices interested in becoming mages and seeking to learn the powers of wizardry studied and trained there. And although studying the finer points of battle magic never interested her personally, she was still fascinated by the stories she read about wizards and the power they could command from the elements. It was frightening to imagine control over such forces, but also awe-inspiring.

And the other notable thing about Geffen in the history books was the cone-shaped tower that laid at its very middle. It was very high at its peak, with a spiral-like design. And buried beneath the tower was the old city of Geffenia, lost to the times and now a dungeon filled with the spirits of the lost and monsters galore. Adventurers went in, but not many parties made it back out.

There was said to be a darkness so deep in the bowels of the levels beneath the tower that one's own soul could be corrupted and shattered by it. For those that did escape the clutches of whatever laid beneath, many of them were said to have gone insane and lost their entire sense of being. She and a few of the other sisters had attended to two remaining party members of a group that came from there once. There seemed to be a shadow cast over them that not even the most holy of magics could break.

The monster within the tower was probably played up in the history books to sound like some kind of ominous creature of darkness and chaos, but the priestess could not help but wonder if the entity deep down in the earth beneath Geffen's tower was as misunderstood as the goat-like one she had met briefly or the quirky skeleton who rescued her.

...That didn't matter, in the end. She was here to search the libraries, not dig her nose into the mysteries of the ancient city buried under the surface. And walking in there without a party was little less than certain death.

She was not quite _that_ crazy.

Unlike the entrances to Prontera, there were no guards standing at the ready outside of Geffen. In fact, it looked very open and even mildly inviting. There was something in her own magic that sensed a kindred spirit and felt oddly comfortable stepping within its walls.

The interior of the city was not nearly as crowded as the streets of Prontera. She saw a pair of alchemists conversing near a pleasant-looking tavern to her right and a few wizards walked by with a sage, quietly talking amongst themselves. It felt rather odd not to have vendors and merchants immediately clamber up to her and request to show their wares for purchasing. By now, someone surely would have asked her for a healing or a warp portal, too.

This was a nice change. It was a shame that the Prontera Parish had not been stationed here or at least had a sister branch in this area. She felt like she could settle down in a place like this.

But that was not what she was here for, ultimately. She was here for information.

The priestess looked about, curiously eyeballing the signs that hung from various establishments as she walked through the cobblestone streets and paths. She stumbled upon the Magician Guild rather quickly. And where the bustle of activity had been missing upon entering the city, there were large quantities of people hanging around outside of the guild and stretching all the way to a fountain near the center of the city. This was clearly the "hot spot".

She didn't know the ins and outs of the city, however, and if she wanted to find a library, this looked to be the place in which she was most likely to find someone who could point her in the proper direction. So the priestess veered off the path and looked at the various travelers and different classes chattering and practicing their crafts. There were many young faces, some still novices and others clearly excited to have received their magician outfits. But near the doors to the guild, she spotted a middle-aged woman with a faux fox wrapped around her neck and adorning long, draped sleeves of a deep green and cream with a matching silken garb. Behind a pair of thin red frames perched on her nose, she was sternly surveying what looked like a check list in her hands.

Professors were rare to see, even back in Prontera. They were among the more elite classes and extremely difficult to achieve the rank of. She would at least know where the library was, wouldn't she?

Emboldened by that thought, the priestess approached her and waited briefly as the lady scratched on her note pad before clearing her throat. "Excuse me---do you have a moment?"

The woman's eyes flicked up from above crest of her short glasses. "I am quite busy. Out with it, child."

Taken aback at being called a child, the young woman nearly reeled back and prepared a retort. But she stopped short. Whether this woman thought she was an adult or not didn't really make any difference. She just needed info. "I'm looking for the library," she explained as politely as she could. "And I have never been here before. Do you know where I should go?"

The female professor blinked very slowly. It appeared to the priestess as though she was being silently judged and she stiffened on reflex. "Child, you are standing before the Magician's Guild. There is much information within. However," the woman paused, giving her a once over. "You are clearly not of the Guild. What use have you of spell knowledge for what you cannot perform?"

She bit her lip. That's right, a priestess couldn't just walk into the Magician's Guild without raising a few eyebrows and questions along the way. "Well, I--"

The woman sighed. " _Surely_ you are aware that you cannot just change your class or dabble in magics of that which you are not apt to train in. If you were that interested in the study of elemental magic, then perhaps you should have chosen more wisely before walking the path of the clergy."

She shook her head. "No, I... that's not why I---" Gods, she was probably sounding ridiculous tripping over her words. The priestess took a deep breath in efforts to pull herself back together. "I'm not looking for information on spells. What I'm looking for is more general---like history. Where would I find books like that?"

"Oh." A little of the severity dropped from the woman's features and tone. She pointed off to the northern area around a winding curve. "That way, child. There is an old shop there which may have what you seek. Good day."

The professor went back to scratching out her notes without further comment, but the priestess offered her a grateful bow and a smile. "Thank you!"

With that, she whirled on heel and headed up the nearest street. The crowd thinned once again as she left the Magician's Guild in her wake. A svelte female rogue and a burly crusader walked by arm in arm, the former giggling as she clutched his arm, but arched pathways up this way were otherwise almost barren of people.

She found the shop easily enough. The wooden sign hanging down above the door had a closed tome etched onto it amidst some elegant carving. It had to be the place.

The priestess turned from the path and headed up to the door, pushing it open and jangling the little bell at the top. An elderly wizard looked up from the counter next to the door and flashed her a warm, gap-toothed smile.

"Why hello there, young traveler," he greeted. "What can I 'elp you with today?"

She was distantly reminded of her grandfather, which brought a smile to her lips. "Hello, sir. I'm looking for some books on the history of Rune-Midgard and the war." And before she could think better of it, her curiosity implored her to ask, "Also anything you might have on Glast Heim."

The man squinted at her kindly, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling. "Interested in the history, eh? I can certainly 'elp you there, miss. Right this way."

He hopped down from what was apparently a tall chair, his height dwindling down to a mere three and a half feet without the boost---and his white beard almost reaching half that length, itself. She followed after him, feeling in quite high spirits now that things were looking up.

"Not often that youngins' are interested in that sort of thing," he mused as he brought her to a series of shelves in the back of the store. "This is about all we have here. If you're interested in magic tomes and the like, you ought to check the right side of the store. There be tons of 'em over there."

Fighting the urge to dance on her feet with this stroke of good luck, she flashed a bright smile at the elderly shopkeeper. "Thank you so much! Would I be able to borrow a few to read or are these books only for sale? I don't have much zeny with me."

The old wizard rubbed his fingers thoughtfully through the end of his snowy beard. "Hmm... this is a bookstore for purchasin' books. But these books back here don't seem to sell anyway. Kids nowadays don't read much if it's not about learnin' spells and weapon skills." He twirled his finger through the white strands a moment longer before he looked from the shelves back up to her. A frail hand reached out to pat the side of her arm. "Alright, you convinced me. I trust you'll bring 'em back. You seem like a nice girl, so you go ahead. I'm glad t' know the younger generation is still interested in these things."

Her eyes widened as she sputtered, "Are you---are you sure? If you like, I can stay here to read and keep you company for awhile." It wasn't as though she had anywhere she needed to be right now. And the interior of the bookstore gave off even a warmer feeling than when she first walked into town.

The wizard gave her arm one more pat before retracting his hand and tucking it into the pocket of his robes. "Nah, don't you worry, little miss. I'm gonna be closin' up shop for the day here pretty shortly. You just bring the books back whenever you're done. Ain't no rush."

With that, he started to hobble away, but she reached for his shoulder to halt him. A curious eyebrow raised at her from over his shoulder. "I just---I want to thank you," she said sincerely. "I walked here from Prontera and this makes the whole trip worth it. I will find some way to pay you back."

He chuckled heartily, patting her hand once before she pulled it back. "That smile's enough. Keep learnin'. Most kids nowadays just rush right into the war blindly. S'always best to inform yourself about what's goin' on before you dive in."

With that, he left her to her peruse of the texts lined on the shelf. There were many books and titles that caught the priestess's eye, but she tried to pick and choose as carefully and quickly as she could. It wouldn't do to make the poor guy keep his shop open any longer than he had to.

She settled on three books total. One was a surprisingly short history book on the war of humans and monsters. The second was about the monarchies and systems of power in Rune-Midgard and mentioned Glast Heim in one of its chapters. And the final book she chose discussed aggression in monsters of the ages and self defense. That would be good in case of a pinch, she thought. And she was pleasantly startled that a book not focusing on defeating monsters in cold blood actually existed.

Taking the short stack of books, she laid them on the counter in front of shopkeeper and opened her satchel. She may not have had much money, but she felt awful not giving anything to the old wizard that was extremely helpful.

"Won't accept a single zeny from you," he informed her resolutely. Her fingers ceased where they were digging in the bottom of her satchel for her money pouch. "You take care of those books and that's enough for me."

The priestess bit her lip, pulling her hand back up. She almost asked if he was sure again, but bit her lip to hold it back. And then, an idea came to mind. It wasn't much, but...

She raised her hands palm forward toward the old man, who blinked his small eyes at her in confusion. The prickle of magic coursed up from within as she concentrated, reaching her arms and tickling the skin of her hands. In a flourishing movement, she lifted her arms in an arc and met them together in front of her, hands palm to palm.

"Blessing!" she chanted.

An aura of white surrounded the man briefly, the image of angels circling above his head as sparkling specks of light filtered down over him like invisible glitter. Reaching for the forgotten books on the counter, she beamed at him. "Have a wonderful day and may the Gods guide you!"

She exited the shop with a bounce in her step and the kind expression of the elder wizard etched into her mind. She would not forget him or his kindness.

Although eager to soak in the new information (and hopefully return the books as soon as possible in case something were to happen), the priestess couldn't quell the urge to check out the center of town. The tower was visible from all around, standing tall and in a way, almost beckoning...

It wouldn't hurt to at least get a closer look. She wasn't going to go _inside_ of it or anything.

She veered off of the path back east and instead headed west and down a level until she came to a set of stairs that lowered directly into the central portion of the city. At the crest, she stilled and surveyed the area below. There were groups of people _everywhere_ outside of the tower's wide base. Some were nursing a few wounds and others had signs next to them or held above their heads---looking for party members to enter the tower. A few merchants were trying to sell healing pots at ridiculous prices. And a young swordsman was loudly declaring that he was going to enter the tower and being pulled by the back of his shirt by three of what she could only believe must have been his friends or party.

But what took her off-guard was the concentration of magic here. It was dense and cloying, giving her a feeling of unease that the rest of the city did not. Maybe there was something to the stories about the adventurer's that traversed the lower levels of the city ruins below...

That was enough, she decided, swallowing a small lump that had formed in her throat. She had books to read. And she was certainly not going to join some random party and enter into a place like that. She had no intentions of changing her stance on attacking monsters, whether they were dangerous or not.

Slowly, she backed away---and yelped as she collided unexpectedly with a solid form behind her.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she turned around, hands raised up in apology.

"Hey, it's nothing. Might just want to look where you're walking, little lady."

The speaker adjusted the brown cap over his hair and went to walk right on by her. But before heading down the steps, he abruptly stopped and turned to face her, thumbs hanging in the buckles on the side of his pants. The brows beneath his dark hair furrowed as he studied her face. "Wait, aren't you...?"

She stared and then it clicked into place in her mind. Blacksmith. Dark hair---almost black, falling over one eye. Green eyes.

"Clyde?" she questioned incredulously.

His features lit up. "Knew it was you!" he remarked with a bark of a laugh. "What brings you to Geffen? Thought you were still holed up at that church. Jeez... almost didn't recognize you. You were an acolyte last I saw."

"And you were a merchant," she returned. "Congratulations on becoming a blacksmith."

"Hah, thanks. Was only a matter of time. Priestess garb suits you nicely, too, by the way. _Very_ nicely."

The leering was definitely unnecessary and unwelcome. She frowned, crossing her arms. "I'm just passing through. I should be going."

"Aw, wait up!" He called her name as she turned around and she reluctantly looked back. "Don't you wanna catch up or something? It's been awhile."

The edges of her frown sunk further as her eyes narrowed. "If I remember correctly, the last time I saw you, you were laughing at me and calling me a coward. You also dropped my favorite hair ribbon into the fountain and ruined it."

He winced, wearing an apologetic smile. "Hey, c'mon. We were just kids. I was just teasing you. And I promise I fully appreciate priests and everything they do. Sorry I gave you a hard time back then."

She sighed, not feeling any more at ease around the familiar face. Clyde Berhnam was not really what she would have called a childhood friend, exactly. Their families lived next door to each other in Prontera when she was young. Spending time in his loud, obnoxious presence was unavoidable back then. He was tolerable sometimes and had once upon a time supported her dream to be an archer, but the other half of the time, he spent his time just trying to annoy her and antagonizing her for laughs.

Perhaps that was why that skeleton's jokes couldn't so easily bring her to laugh. Harmless though they were, her sense of humor had suffered over the years thanks to Clyde's antics.

"It's fine," she finally responded, waving him off. He reached for her wrist before she could walk away.

"Hang on. Actually, since you're here... were you thinkin' about going into the tower? My party and I could really use a priest. We share profits and spoils equally. How about it?"

She didn't even give the proposition any thought. "No thank you," she replied stiffly, aiming to pull her arm from his grip.

He let go, but she could see the suddenly sour look on his face. "So it's true, then. You're a priest but you don't join parties or help anyone. I'm surprised to hear you even left the church at all, but you haven't changed."

Clyde sounded bitter, but she didn't care. Impressing him was never on her list of things to accomplish. She started to walk away without looking back.

"You made a mistake turning down the Pronterean Guard!" he called after her. "You think the elites aren't going to notice you left them hanging? It was news all over Prontera yesterday. You can't keep running forever!"

She ignored him, forcing her legs to move faster until his voice was too far away to hear. So what if she didn't join some stupid elite monster-hunting party? No one could _make_ her take part in this war. She was her own person and she made her own decisions!

Her afternoon now thoroughly spoiled, she decided to head outside of the city to read. Any chance that Clyde might find her and taunt her again was not something she wanted to leave an opening for. And the knowledge that she made the news in Prontera didn't sit well with her, either. They couldn't... come after her or something, could they? Would they blame the church? Father Reinhar and the sisters had only ever embodied the kindness and understanding of the church. She didn't want them to suffer for her sake.

But even that couldn't convince her to go back. She had made her choice and she was sticking to it. What did it matter if there were was "news" or rumors about her? That would die down quickly enough. It couldn't have been the first time someone refused to take ranks in the war, could it?

No, definitely not. But just the same, it left an unpleasant feeling in her gut. She needed to bury herself in books for awhile.

Her angry strides carried her all the way across the bridge east of Geffen. From there, she headed a little north toward an inviting patch of trees. There was at least a few hours of daylight left yet. She would have to read as much as she could before then.

Letting a bit of steam out in the form of an over-dramatic sigh, she sunk against the biggest tree and pulled her satchel up between her legs. The first book to look at would have to be the war history one, definitely. She wanted to know as much about that as possible, since she was definitely starting to get the idea that humans were not the huge victims they made themselves out to be.

Pulling the large but thin text out, she propped it up with her satchel and began reading.

She was soon to find out that it was not nearly as informative as she hoped. There were, however, at least a few more things brought to light. The book did acknowledge that humans and monsters lived in harmony once upon a time. And more confusingly, it claimed that a "crime against the Gods" was made by the monsters, who punished every being that lived on the surface of Rune-Midgard for their wrongdoing. Humans apparently held a grudge for that reason.

But the book didn't explain _why_ the Gods were angered, instead only going into detail about how humans did not play a part in it. And she was skeptical, to say the least. Why were they so determined to absolve themselves from any and all blame? Was monster hate really this rampant?

...She already knew the answer to that, unfortunately.

A few other interesting tidbits and perhaps the ones that caught her attention the most were about the six heroes. They each had a distinctive class or job and apparently a very distinctive piece of armor or headgear that was said to house their lost souls. And those items were said be in the possession of six different powerful boss monsters.

The humans wanted the items back before the conflict and the war could be ended.

In truth, it did not seem like much to ask to end a war. And it made the priestess wonder why said items had yet to be obtained or returned. Clearly both sides in this war had more to hide than they were letting on. And there were too many pieces in the puzzle that were missing. She may have only been holding a few out of hundreds, for all she knew.

It seemed like important information that she would want to keep on-hand, though. So the priestess took out a small journal from her bag, which was already half-filled with notes she took at the church, and flipped to a fresh page. There, she jotted down the classes of the heroes and the item each was associated with. The first, surprisingly, was a female Novice and item of hers that was stolen and sealed her soul was apparently a blue ribbon. Second was a Champion, whose soul-sealing missing item was a yellow bandana. Then came a Dancer with a sheer skirt. The fourth was a Sage and a set of black-rimmed glasses. Fifth, perhaps most surprisingly, did not even have a job class---they were formerly a simple cook at a restaurant in the city of Al De Baran and their apron was the missing item. And lastly was a Gunslinger with his soul trapped in a confiscated cowboy hat.

After jotting them down, she looked over the list and pondered about their significance. They must have long since left the realm of the living, but why were these items nowhere to be found? Humans constantly boasted about defeating boss monsters. Did it have something to do with the fact that boss monsters regenerated? Thinking about it all was starting to make her head hurt.

But she was curious, too. What if she could find any of these items? The monsters apparently needed seven in all to achieve their own goals, so it was not likely that they would just hand them over. And she had no intentions of trying to fight any boss monsters. _Reasoning_ with them, however... wasn't that worth a shot?

It wasn't that simple and she knew it. There were many boss monsters---many more than simply six of them. And there was no telling which ones had these items. She was crazy to be thinking down this path, but... how could she live with herself if she didn't do something to try to help put an end to this. She remembered the goat monster's voice clearly in her mind.

_"It gives me hope... hope that this pointless war can end one day."_

She did not want to fight. There were other monsters that clearly didn't want to fight, as well. And maybe, with some luck, she could also find some humans out there who felt the same way that she did. And if not humans, what about finding peaceful monsters who believed in the winds of change? A little change and goodwill could start to lead to bigger and better things, no matter how small the beginnings.

These were probably far too positive of thoughts to have, but after trying to avoid ever getting involved in this mess, she felt like it was almost her duty now to start a path through mercy and compassion. Maybe she adapted as well as she did to becoming a priest because this kind of calling really was where her heart was all along. The more she thought about it, the more fired up she was feeling---and it was no longer from her lingering irritation with Clyde.

Snapping the book closed, she felt a tug on the buckle of her left shoe, looked up---and gasped.

How she had not noticed this before, the priestess couldn't quite fathom. She had gotten lost in books many times, but to the point that numerous monsters had apparently decided she was not only harmless---but also a good object for resting on? There were two large caterpillar-like creatures brushing up against one of her shoes, and one of the little bunny-like fluffballs she saw in the Prontera fields appeared to be sleeping right next to her right leg. Two of the pink jello-like creatures were bobbing in place on her opposite side, alongside another bunny one was munching nearby on what looked like a carrot.

...And people actually _killed_ these creatures?

Feeling a spark of courage manifest from the manner in which the monsters were acting, she reached a hand down and hesitantly brushed her fingers through the rabbit's fur. It gave the slightest jolt from being touched, but then relaxed, making a sound almost like a mouse's squeak as she threaded her fingers through the soft hair.

She could feel herself smiling. If there were so many monsters like this, why condemn them all for the aggressive behavior of some? They probably felt as though they had to attack humans in efforts to survive. She had been the one to stumble upon the territory and home of the green-skinned monsters. And although she had not meant to, she upset the child one. Wasn't it only natural for a parent to feel protective in such a situation?

"Hey, dude!"

The sudden voice startled her enough this time to jerk her head back against the tree and send a few of the monsters bounding away in alarm. A strange urge flew strongly through her, instinctively making her reach out as though to try to shield the creatures still hanging around her.

"Please---don't hurt them! They were just resting here with me while I--"

Her speech stopped. Standing a few feet in front of her was not a young human, but a young _monster_ , from the looks of it. He---or she---had a rounded yellow head with a short snout and a long lizard-like tail flicking back and forth behind it from beneath the edges of a gold and brown striped shirt (where its arms were probably huddled beneath?). A few short spikes ran down the back of its head.

It hopped back and forth in front of her, laughing. "Haha, are you kidding, dude? Why would I hurt them?"

"Ah, I thought you were---never mind." She shook her head and then smiled at the new arrival. "Can I... help you?"

The monster suddenly looked apprehensive, its eyes darting left and right. "Man, I'm not supposed to be here. Y'know, this close to the humans and their cities and stuff. My parents are probably worried, but..."

Gently, she ventured, "Shouldn't you go home, then? This is very close to Geffen City and I can't promise you that anyone else you meet will be... friendly." Frankly, she did not want to see this monster--or any of the ones around here, for that matter--get hurt. And especially not because of her.

"I just wanted to see for myself!" the monster burst energetically. "Frisk said there was another human like them who didn't like the war or fighting. They told me what you looked like and I've kinda been looking around without telling them and wow, I think I really did find you! Wait until I tell Frisk!"

The priestess's mind snagged on that name. _Frisk_. Wasn't that... the human child's name? The one in the arms of the motherly goat monster?

"You know Frisk?" she questioned. "The human child with the white goat woman?"

"YEAH!" the lizard-monster kicked a foot into the air. "Of course I do! Frisk and I are good friends!"

Though she was surprised that the child mentioned her to any other monsters at all, a window of opportunity was opening before her. As much as she did not want this lizard kid to be in any danger by staying in this area for long, she was also thirsty for more answers and information.

"Do you know where I can find Frisk?" she pressed eagerly. "There are... there are many things I would like to talk to them about. And I promise I do not want to hurt them or the monster that takes care of them." She added the last part hastily, signing a cross over the area of her heart. "Priest's word by the honor of Odin."

The monster looked nervous again, rubbing its clawed toes into the grass as it stared downward. "I... I can't do that, dude. Sorry. Frisk wants Toriel to stay safe and she wants the same for them. It's monster code that I can't break, man. Sorry. Gotta keep it a secret."

She frowned, exhaling through her nose. That was unfortunate, but she understood. They couldn't just tell her that kind of information freely, especially if they were in hiding. But it was really odd, too. Wasn't it said that boss monsters kept going back to the same area over and over, no matter how many times they were felled by humans? This one called "Tor-i-elle" did not seem to follow that pattern.

"I see," she finally acknowledged softly. "You should probably hurry home, then. It will be dark soon. You shouldn't make your parents worry any longer."

"Yeah..." the monster child trailed off, kicking at the ground. "I guess I really should go home now. But MAN, I'm glad I found you! I never met a human before and I heard all kinds of bad things about them. But you're really nice, dude!"

She returned the beaming, toothy smile the lizard was giving her. "That's sweet of you. Just make sure you don't approach other humans, okay? A lot of them, they um... they will probably try to hurt you. Stay where it's safe."

The monster tilted its yellow head at her. "Yeah, dude! Thanks for the tip! And by the way, I'm MK! Maybe I'll get to see you again sometime, dude!"

She chuckled as he bounded away. "Safe travels, Em-Kay! Make sure that you-- _oh_ \---" Reflexively, she winced when the monster tripped and fell face-first into the ground. "Are you alright?"

Without waiting for an answer, she got to her feet. Raising her arms, she extended her hands toward the fallen lizard as it struggled to get back to its feet. "Agility up!" she called clearly. MK's form was surrounded by a circle of white magic and glowing tendrils of light briefly before the spell died away.

"Hey! I feel really light now! Haha! Thanks, dude!" They took off once more---running easily three times as fast as they did before.

The priestess watched until the monster was out of sight and silently prayed for them to get back to their home without running into any problems---particularly humans. Then she sat back down against the tree and peered around. A few of the monsters were still hanging about, but they seemed happy minding their own business now. She could return to the books.

"Wait..." she spoke aloud, brows furrowing. The spell she just cast to help the monster leave the area quickly...

Her eyes widened in realization and she barely resisted picking up the fallen book and colliding it against her forehead.

"Why didn't I think of doing that to _myself_ to get here faster!? Uuuuugh!"

Well, she thought grumpily as she sunk against the trunk of the tree, she would certainly remember that from now on. It would make traveling a lot easier and much more convenient to do by foot, even if it was bound to pull on her magic resources as a result. And to think that it never even crossed her mind before now... maybe she was pretty good at magic, but she wasn't used to actually relying on it in real situations. Everything at the church had always been a simulated experience. This was going to take a lot of getting used to.

Letting that thought carry its way to the back of her mind for now, she put the war history book back into her satchel and extracted a smaller but thicker one from in front of it. "The Monarchies and Rulers of Ancient Rune-Midgard" was scrawled in aged ink on the weathered cover of the tome. She flipped it open and propped it against one leg, searching for what had caught her eye in while she was in the bookstore.

Ah, there it was. Chapter 7. The Kingdom of Glast Heim.

She feathered through the pages to find the desired chapter and then leaned back to begin reading. And unlike the previous book, this one instantly snagged her attention from the very opening page. She leaned forward with interest. Some of the words were difficult to read from how old the pages and the ink were, but she understood the basics.

Glast Heim was a vast kingdom once ruled by a double monarchy - humans _and_ monsters.

Its time was before the war began. And there were many details about the vast amounts of knights that were in service to both kings and queens and how the kingdom was considered to be some of the most elite and powerful of humans and monsters in all of Rune-Midgard. Fascinated, she read on...

Clearly, this kingdom had once been the most respected and the largest in the entire land, once upon a time. From what the book claimed, they had the blessings of the Gods and even a grand church built to honor and praise them. The kingdom had flourished with prosperity and its influence had affected much of the surrounding lands.

But those times didn't last---or so the book said. The monster king became greedy and wanted the ancient tomes hidden deep in Geffenia Tower, said to house the secrets to a great power and even immortality. Human assassins and monsters were sent into the tower to steal the tomes and bring them back to Glast Heim Castle.

They returned and presented the stolen tomes. And upon reading those tomes, the monster king did not realize that he unleashed an evil from within them that swept across the kingdom, damning the souls of humans and monsters alike in Glast Heim for all eternity. Overcome with evil power that he could not fight, the human king was transformed into an immortal skeleton monster called the "Dark Lord". The royal monsters were said to have fled, leaving the human queen to succumb to the darkness and taking with them not only their own child, but the human child belonging to the other king and queen as well. None of them were ever seen again.

It was... a lot to take in. The priestess had to lift her eyes from the book briefly, just giving herself a moment to take a few breaths. An entire fallen kingdom... was this the real grudge that humans held over the monsters? Was it what really started the war? Was this book even _accurate_?

Too many questions plagued her mind. And now she knew that whomever had written that message on her map knew something about what happened in Glast Heim---maybe quite a bit. And there was a chance she might meet them if she went there.

That would be her next destination, she decided. It could hold a very important key to everything. And if there were many souls of the damned there... was it possible that a hero's soul might be among them?

Only one way to know for sure.

For the moment, she returned to the book, intending to finish off the chapter. Any more information that she could find would help, whether it was completely accurate or not. It was at least giving her _something_ to go off of.

She darted her eyes across the page, soaking in the words that detailed the decay of the once-formidable kingdom. The text couldn't give an accurate testament to the amount of time that had passed, but it had clearly been a very long time ago. Even the grandfather's father of her grandfather apparently had never mentioned anything about it.

Her fingers curled at the edge of the page and flipped it over to continue reading.

But as the page fell, so did the book, flopping down from her numb hands to the ground in front of her as she stared at the open page with shock and disbelief.

There, depicted in an old painting was the human king and queen right alongside the monster king and queen, their children at their sides. The monster queen had the face of a goat, white fur, a brilliant smile, and a queen's crown perched just in front of her horns. _Toriel Dreemurr_ was written in looping, fine script beneath her.

It was, without a doubt, the goat monster that she met near Prontera. The monster with the human child.

The priestess could hardly believe her eyes, but there the motherly monster was, smiling up at her through a weathered old painting.

Toriel Dreemurr.

She was the former monster queen of Glast Heim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glast Heim's history is actually based from Ragnarok Online facts! I twisted it to add the monster monarchy and children in, but I tried to keep most of the story the same.
> 
> Also, if you are confused about the "classes" of the heroes, do not worry. They will be looked into and explained more later. I matched RO classes to the fallen children in Undertale as well as I could.
> 
> Also, here's an image of Geffen if you would like to see what the city looks like: http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_licnjrWoga1qgvvtno1_1280.jpg
> 
> Enjoy the cliffhanger and I will see you again for Chapter Four, when our favorite skeleton will reappear. :) Feel free to ask any questions you may have! Your feedback is greatly appreciated!


	4. Unheeded Warnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Priestess!Reader ventures into Glast Heim, the fallen, cursed kingdom. She runs into two familiar faces and whole lotta trouble. (This is a LONG chapter.)

Toriel.

She wanted--- _needed_ to talk to the monster lady more than ever now.

And when the initial shock finally wore off, the priestess picked up the book again to study the rest of the occupants of the painting of Glast Heim's royal line. The demure, smiling goat woman was standing next to a taller and broader-shouldered male monster who looked to also be of the same monster species. He, too, was smiling, one arm around the queen and the other large hand resting on the shoulder of the child in front of them. He had a well-trimmed beard of blond hair and a large crown resting in front of his impressive horns.

_Asgore Dreemurr_ , the script beneath read.

She blinked at the name, puzzled. It was not a name she had heard before. Though many boss monsters' names were heard in the streets of Prontera, that was one she was not familiar with at all. And looking at the picture, it was hard to see the kindly-smiling king as a harbinger of destruction for the kingdom. Perhaps power had corrupted him over time?

The child down in front of the monster king and queen was their spitting image, from the floppy goat ears to the white fur. They looked a little shy, but nonetheless happy.

_Asriel Dreemurr_ was written beneath them.

Her eyes finally swiveled over to the other half of the painting, where the humans were standing together in an almost mirrored posing of the monsters alongside them. The king had a beard shorter than Asgore's, his hair a dark red color (or at least that was what the old dried paints looked like---she could not be certain). Standing beside him was his queen, smiling serenely in a prim and proper manner toward the viewer. Unlike the king, her hair was a deep brown that fell over her shoulders in large curls, making the almost reddish hue of her eyes stand out. Both of her hands were resting on the child's shoulders in front of her. And said child was the only one who was not smiling in the entire painting, their cheeks rosy and hair a muted reddish-brown. Their eyes were much like their mother's.

_Verek Vole_ , _Lestania Vole_ , and _Chara Vole_.  

The priestess did not recognize a single one of them, although her gaze did linger a little on the child---Chara. Their likeness to Frisk almost made her do a double-take at first, but they were clearly very different children. And considering how old this painting was, Frisk would certainly not be alive now if that was the case.

It did make her wonder a great deal about the only being in the painting she had actually met, though. If Toriel was raising a human child now, what of her own child? What of Asgore? Had both of them fallen prey to this evil that had been set free and overcome the kingdom? And if so, how did she escape? And if they took the human child, what happened to them?

She needed to stop thinking---at least for now. Twilight was darkening the inky purple sky and soon it would be night. Tomorrow, she could venture out to Glast Heim and perhaps find out more.

\----------

Even with a city all but directly next to her, the priestess did not spend the night in Geffen. She had felt safe enough in the fields outside to doze against the tree she spent the later afternoon leaning against. And it ultimately helped to save money, since staying at an inn was certainly not cheap and her savings of zeny needed to be in reserve for an emergency.

With all of the information and questions that were piled and nagging at her mind, though, sleep was fitful and she woke up several times over the course of the night.

Morning left her feeling mentally alert---uncomfortably so, but still physically tired. In order to pump up her energy levels, she had a couple pieces of fruit that she had stowed in her bag. The nourishment did not completely disolve her fatigue, but it did improve her state enough that she felt ready to face the day.

Her mind was resolutely made up on going to Glast Heim. She removed her map to study the path again, pausing over the rather ridiculous-looking writing that was still scrawled over her area of intrigue. There was probably not a very good chance of meeting the person who left her the note. What were the odds that they would just happen to be hanging around there for an entire day?

That didn't matter, anyway. The most she was hoping for was to find more books, evidence of the former royals, mementos of the people who had lived in that kingdom so long ago, or most pressingly---something that connected to the six heroes. Trying to track down Toriel would have been advantageous to finding the answers she sought, but as the monster she spoke to the previous evening had told her, the goat woman and the human child were in hiding somewhere - a secret location. And that gave her nothing to go on.

Glast Heim was not too far, thankfully. And now that she had the piece of mind to cast helpful spells upon herself, traveling there would not take long. She packed the books and map away into her satchel and carefully latched it, tossing the strap over her shoulder and resting the brunt of the weight on her right hip. It was mildly heavier with a few more books now, but she did not want to return the texts just yet---they could prove useful.

Turning on heel, she glanced over at the walls of Geffen in the distance and the tower winding up in the middle, bidding the city a silent farewall.

...She had a feeling it would not be the last time that she saw it.

Making use of the spell she had cast upon the lizard monster, she increased her own walking speed at least three times over, taking off briskly to the east. Now that she was moving--and quite swiftly, at that--she was beginning to feel the adrenaline kick into gear. The priestess strode light on her heels through the grassy meadows, the almost rhythmic thump of the bag at her side strangely calming as her heart thumped within her chest.

She was really doing this. The person that she was just months ago---just weeks ago, even, would not have believed this possible. How did one transition from staying secluded within a church to traversing Rune-Midgard with a burning purpose?

Was this what freedom felt like? It made her want to laugh. And so, she did. Without holding back, she let her voice carry as she all but glided through the grassy path east. The crisp mid-morning air felt nice in her lungs. And despite her lack of sleep the night before, she was feeling very awake now.

The paths ahead started to weave into different directions. According to the map, she would have to go north pretty soon. These areas were not familiar to her at all and not quite as easy to navigate as the fields near Prontera, but she was determined not to let anything hold her back.

After a few more minutes, she felt the effects of the spell begin to wear off. Her pace slowed gradually until she was at normal walking speed once again. Nearby, she could see a rather grotesque-looking plant creature protruding from beside a large bush. It was quivering and quite a bit taller than her where it was sticking out of its rooted position. It also had teeth--which were gnashing continually.

Well, she was definitely not going to get close to _that_. Eying it warily, if just to make sure that it didn't suddenly grow legs and charge at her, the priestess prepared her agility spell for a second time. Her magic power still felt pretty strong for the time being. There was no need to worry about overdoing it yet. So she cast it upon herself once more, feeling the tendrils of wind curl around her and making her feel feather-light upon her feet as a result.

She sprinted toward the north at the next divergence of pathways, keeping on the look-out for any of the strange flower-plant creatures. It felt as though she was no longer in friendly monster territory at this point. She could have sworn she saw some kind of large insect dart behind a nearby tree...

It was alright, she assured herself. She had the speed advantage and Glast Heim was getting closer and closer by the minute. This time, she had definitely thought ahead.

Latching tightly onto that surge of confidence, she strolled on through the dense greenery at high speed, meandering her direction occasionally to avoid the various terrifying plant-things that convulsed in their stationery positions. Curiosity usually left her wondering about many things, but she did not even want to know what those things were. That was knowledge she could do without. Grimacing, she hurried by them.

Other than the unnerving, teeth-baring vegetation in various places, the swift promenade was almost pleasant. There was something fresh and invigorating about nearly flying over the ground as your hair flew out behind you. She pumped her legs faster, glancing back to see if she could still spot Geffen's central tower from where she was now.

Instead of a tower, though, her eyes broadened, heart skipping a beat when she found herself being trailed by easily a dozen dragon-like creatures. Some had a blue-ish hue and little wings that they were flapping vigorously, their head lined with sharp spikes. The others were running along the ground, green in color and thrashing what looked like a fleshy flail from the back of their heads. Her eyes widened and a gasp of shock got caught in her throat.

How hadn't she noticed they were there!?

"Oh _Gods_!" she exclaimed, breaking into an instant run in efforts to escape. "What are you!? Why are you following me!?"

She was only answered by squawks and furious flapping from her pursuers. They clearly had no intention of letting up on her. If it had been just one, she could have tried to reach out with the hope of dissuading it from lashing out, but these aggressive lizard monsters were nothing less than a _swarm_ at this point---and she could have sworn she just saw a few more join the pack that was hot on her trail.

Thank goodness for the magic or she would not have had a chance to outrun these monsters. As it was, though, she needed to get them off of her tail---and before the lift to her agility disappeared. She was supposed to be going north, but if she remembered the layout of the area on the map, it wound around like a small, circular maze and broke off in multiple areas. That would be her best opportunity to try to lose the unwanted entourage. Silently praying that her spell would hold strong for awhile longer yet, she veered off at the first break to the east and urged her feet to move faster.

As she had hoped, there were noises of confusion behind her when she took the sharp left and the dragon-esque creatures fell behind a little bit, unprepared for the change. It was working!

To keep them guessing, she tried to take the most oddball paths that were presented to her, feeling more and more adrenaline running through her veins as she kicked up the pace another notch. They were falling further behind, their noises steadily becoming further away. Her heart was still pounding. She was probably going to have to get used to running from things, considering that she had no intention of fighting monsters. And as frightening as it was to have a pack of monsters coming after you, there was something almost exciting about this.

It wasn't like the simulations in the church at all. She never once felt that she was in any real predicament with the various exercises and practices that were done at the Prontera Parish. Everything was controlled and there was always a High Priest overseeing the training. You knew that you were not going to get seriously hurt. And even the test to ascend to priest was more of a mind game and a test of faith than an actual dangerous situation.

And it wasn't that she thought running for her life like this was fun or anything, but for the first time in a long time, ever since she left Prontera... she felt like she was really _living_. There were no walls. There were no simulations. This was all _real_.

After several more twists and turns, she could not longer hear the cries of the dragon creatures. Had they given up?

She didn't allow her feet to stop just yet. The more distance between them and herself, the better. Once she was certain, then she could stop long enough to check her map and...

Where _had_ she gone? The priestess felt the spell start to wear down, her speed decreasing until she was standing still. Her eyes were drawn to the unfamiliar sight of towering walls and black, ornate gates up ahead and to her left. Her brows furrowed. Was this...?

Without even pulling the flap of her satchel free, she dug into the corner and tugged on the end of the map, extracting it from the side. She stared at the marked area and then up to the gates. It looked like she had actually unwittingly stumbled upon her destination. This was what her map claimed was Glast Heim.

She swallowed, her throat feeling suddenly dry as she walked a little closer. There was something dark emanating from within it that she felt rather than saw. Her skin felt cold, like pinpricks of ice were pinching the skin beneath the cloth of her habit. It brought a wave of unpleasant chills with it, making her shiver. Whatever was in there, her own magic was, in its own unique way, telling her that it was definitely not good.

But she didn't come all this way for nothing. Slowly, she came closer to the gates, peering beyond them. Ruined stone structures, chipped away by time lined equally worn stone paths and torn hedges of unrecognizable shapes. A sickly green moss and an overgrowth of vines and plants covered much of the weathered stone, like a disease that slowly settled in upon the host after time. And although the day had been sunny, there seemed to be a shadow cast over the area, as though light could not even fully reach it.

The book had claimed a great evil befell this kingdom due to the monster king's greed and the unleashing of a terrible power within Geffenia's stolen ancient tomes. And that part, at least, did not seem like it was wrong. She couldn't see far beyond the lines of black metal bars that barred the area off from the rest of Rune-Midgard, but it was incredibly uninviting. An eerie mist laid low to the paths further in and stretched into a fog she couldn't see through at all.

It was with lightly-trembling fingers that the priestess finally reached out to grab hold of the handle on the gates. She didn't know what she was getting into and this was probably far beyond foolish, but this place might hold the answers she needed and maybe a missing item from the heroes, as well. She couldn't turn back after coming this far.

That thought finally solidified her determination enough for her to wrap her fingers taut and give a rough pull on the metal. The double-door gate rattled from her attempt, but didn't budge. She pulled again, grunting slightly as she put a bit more force into it. Still the doors refused to open. Her feelings of trepidation and hesitation were quickly morphing into aggravation. Why wouldn't the gates open!?

Adding a second hand to join the first, she grit her teeth and pulled hard. The gates clanked, but still didn't allow her entry. She scowled at them, perched one shoe against the bottom for leverage, took a deep breath, and--

"havin' trouble, kid?"

"YEEEEEEEEK!" she screeched, releasing the gate with flailing arms and falling unceremoniously onto her behind from the loss of balance. Her moment of fright was quick to pass, however, when she looked up and saw the owner of the voice that had startled her.

Sans the skeleton grinned down from above her with a bemused hint in the quirk of his smile. "don't worry, you ain't seen a ghost. just a skeleton." He winked and she blinked owlishly several times before it fell into place in her mind---the green-skinned monsters, his awful jokes, and how he ended up helping her escape.

"You," she finally spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"me," he confirmed jovially, leaning back on his heels. "so you remember me, huh?"

The priestess looked him over. Though it was different seeing him in daylight as opposed to the moonlight, he was definitely the same undead monster that rescued her in the Geffen fields. She didn't think she would be able to forget that grin and the worn hunter clothes if she tried.

...Was he wearing bunny slippers?

"I remember," she said, picking herself up off of the ground, "you told a lot of bad jokes. But I didn't get the chance to say thank you for what you did, so... thanks."

The skeleton monster shrugged at her. "it was nothin'. looked like ya were in a _tight_ spot. really on the _ropes_."

Great. Puns again. She resisted releasing an exasperated breath, opting to awkwardly clear her throat instead. "What brings you out this way?"

He turned to look through the gates. Seemingly ignoring her question, he remarked, "this place is a piece of work, huh. looked pretty snazzy a long time ago."

That effectively distracted her. With her eyebrows raising, she glanced from the gates down to the shorter form beside her. "You know about it?"

The surprise in her voice didn't seem to affect him. He tucked his bony hands into the pockets of the patched-up jacket and nonchalantly replied, "of course i do."

She waited patiently after he spoke, but he didn't elaborate. Her brows lowered. Was he just pulling her chain now? She huffed, reaching to unbuckle the front of her bag, and then took out the map. Folding it open, she lowered it down far enough for the skeleton to see and pointed at the note written. "I was tipped off to come here. Is there anything you know about this place that could help? Its history, the people that lived here---anything." She wasn't about to complain about where information came from at this point---she just wanted to know more. And if he was familiar with this place, he would know things about it that she didn't.

"heh. thought my hand-writing looked better than that. i'm ink-credibly impressed ya could read it."

The priestess stared, her jaw falling slack. "Wait---wait wait wait--- _YOU_ wrote this?"

"sure did, buddy," he confirmed with a wide smile.

"B--but..." she sputtered, not having expected to so easily find who was responsible for leaving her the cryptic message. "Why? Why did you want me to come here? What am I supposed to find here? I can't even get in!"

The smile dimmed a little, the slope of his shoulders lowering. "look, kid," he pointed through the gates with a bony finger, "you can see for yourself---probably feel it, too. this ain't child's play. this place is cursed and you shouldn't get involved with any of it."

She blinked numerous times, features twisting incredulously. What the heck? He called her here to tell her to stay _away_ from it?

Feeling more and more frustrated by the second, she jabbed a finger none-too-nicely at the map, all but shoving it at his skull. " _You_ told me to come here if I wanted to find answers!"

The accusation didn't seem to phase the skeleton. His shoulders merely shrugged. "and i'm givin' 'em to ya. the answer is that it ain't your business, pal. and i'm tellin' ya nicely to back off before ya go and get yourself hurt or somethin'."

Angrily, she turned back to her satchel and pulled out the book she had been reading the previous day. She flipped through the pages until she found the painting and carelessly stuffed the map back inside of her bag. Then she presented the open book to the skeleton monster, pointing at it. "I didn't come here completely uninformed, I'll have you know!"

He glanced at the book and then up to her face. "yeah ya did."

The priestess's face scrunched up. Ohhh, she was really starting to get irritated now. Who did this monster think he was? "I read the whole chapter! I know about what happened here!" she declared and then amended quickly, "At least _part_ of it."

Sans shook his skull back and forth. "ya know nothing." He plucked the book from her hands and tossed it behind him, ignoring her outraged noise as she scrambled to pick it back up. "that's a bunch of crap. the humans don't tell anything straight. they just wanna look good."

Retrieving the book, she safely tucked it back into her satchel and glared at the skeleton man. He still didn't look even the slightest bit phased. "That's why I'm _here_ ," she clarified. "I want to know the truth. I figured the book wasn't giving me all of it."

His hand went back into his pocket. "go home, kid," he spoke in a gruffer tone, turning to leave, "stay out of it."

The words hit a nerve. Go home? Back to Prontera? All that she heard in her mind was "go back to being a coward" and "go back to not living at all".

She dropped her satchel on the ground. "No. I _won't_. I'm not going back into hiding. I'm not going back to being pressured into this stupid war. I'm not going back to letting all of these monsters _die_ needlessly when there may be something I can do to help."

The stamping of her foot on the ground with the last statement perhaps wouldn't help deter his idea of her being a child, but... he was being infuriating! She wasn't going to go from being told by humans what to do on to being told what to do by _monsters_ , too.

He had paused some feet away, but didn't turn around. With a heavy sigh preceding it, his voice raised and carried to her ears again. "what good is this gonna do anyone, much less yourself?" he challenged, "ya wanna run in there and get killed?"

She shifted her weight, nipping at her lower lip. "I... I have spells, and I can--"

"run away?" he finished for her, glancing over his shoulder. "that ain't always gonna work, kid. and walkin' into a cursed kingdom of the fallen that has a grudge against humanity isn't the kind of path that's gonna get ya anywhere. not unless you're courtin' death. and that's a _grave_ mistake."

"A grudge against humanity?" she questioned, ignoring the pun, "Why? I thought that the monster king sent for those tomes and then unleashed something that destroyed the kingdom."

She didn't expect him to answer and to instead simply dodge her questions again. But this time, he _did_ respond. "ya got the story backwards," he corrected, swiveling on one white slipper to face her, "it was the human king that brought glast heim to ruin. paid for it, too. he was corrupted by the very magic he wanted to harness. and there ain't one damned soul in there that's forgotten what happened."

Ah. So that... that was the truth, then. She wasn't that surprised, truthfully. It always sounded like the humans blamed the monsters for everything unfairly. But... "Did the monster family escape? The human queen... their child? What happened to them all?"

Sans looked past her into the ruins of the kingdom. "verek stole the lifeforce from his queen. tori tried to save the kids but never found 'em. asgore vowed revenge on humanity."

It felt like someone reached in and physically squeezed her heart. The children didn't make it out? Toriel had lost her own child? And to think that she was still so kind the human child she was raising now after seeing what one human's greed had done to her entire _family_... All this time, she had lived being separated from her family and having a once-happy future stolen away. How did she manage to retain such kindness without losing it to bitterness?

The priestess yearned for the chance to talk to Toriel again, but at the same time, she couldn't imagine bringing up such painful memories with the goat woman just to get answers now. And hadn't she already determined that she would find the answers for herself?

She leaned back against the gates, looking out into the mist in the distance behind her. "He's in there, isn't he. The one who caused all of this. The fallen king."

Sans snorted. "calls himself 'the dark lord' or somethin' now. still full of it. and masqueradin' as a skeleton monster, too. he's gonna give us a bad name."

She was quiet for a moment and then set her gaze on the monster, eyes more curious than suspicious now. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

He laughed, even though she failed to see what was funny. "wasn't gonna stop ya anyway, was i? at least you're a little informed."

The corner of her lips lifted a little. "Well, thanks. I appreciate that. And the warning." Even if she had no intention of listening to it. "It's just... well, this is something I decided I have to do. There's some... things I need to find. I think one of them might be here."

Sans lazily made his way back toward her, shoulders lifting and falling. "guess if i can't talk ya out of it, most i can do is lend a hand. you're not going to get in through the gates. there's some strong magic keepin' those shut---magic from your kind, actually."

"Humans sealed this place off?" Had they been that insistent on no one finding out the truth, or was it more of a safety thing? She wasn't sure. But that didn't matter. She ducked down to throw the strap of her satchel back over her shoulder and straightened with her staff in hand. "I'll find another way in."

Before she could start wandering around the perimeter in search of another entrance, a bony clutch tugged the sleeve on her arm. "hold up, kid. this is faster."

"Fas--" She didn't even get the chance to finish before she felt a tug on her magical senses---familiar, but not entirely so. The world vanished in a blink and an instant later, reformed, throwing her briefly off-balance. They were standing on the other side of the gates. Her eyes widened in realization. "You can teleport?"

She was surprised. He didn't even have to use the incantation to activate it. Could monsters break magic rules like that? Now that she thought about it, the goat monster had conjured a fire spell without using words of magic power, too. She had a lot more to learn about monsters.

" _hand_ y skill to have," he quipped.

She rolled her eyes. Lend a hand, indeed. At least he didn't actually leave his own hand hanging off her again. This was a mild improvement. "I know. Teleportation is something that acolytes are taught at the church early on. It's a basic skill for my class."

His expression turned quizzical at that, one bone-ridged brow raising at her. "then why were ya pullin' on the gates? teleportin' is a lot easier, kid."

"I said we're taught it, not that I ever managed to do it." Her expression grew stormy. Out of all the spells and skills that she did master, why was it that she had so much trouble with such a basic, acolyte-level skill? She could make warp portals with the aid of a blue gemstone, but not once successfully teleport herself. "Couldn't get the hang of it. Still can't. I know that I have the skill---I studied it. I just can't... _do_ it."

Sans didn't pry, instead gesturing for her to follow him. "alright, kid, let's go."

"Go? Let's?" she repeated in puzzlement, "You're coming with me?" She couldn't say she would mind the company in a place like this, especially if humans were very unwelcome here. But it didn't add up. Why was he helping her so much? "I don't get you," she finally confessed. "You conveniently showed up to save me in the middle of the night before. You showed up here when I did. You didn't even want me to come in here in the first place. What's this all about?"

The skeleton paused mid-step and languidly turned back around. "tori asked me to keep an eye on ya, kid. she was worried about ya ever since you crossed paths and mentioned wantin' to know about the war. told her i'd keep an eye socket out for ya."

Tori? Toriel...? He knew her?

"she's not gonna be happy that i let ya in here," he continued, "but i'm sure you'd have found another way whether i helped or not."

"Is that so." Her voice was stiff. As nice as the monster woman's concern was, especially when they were all but strangers, she didn't need a _babysitter_. Human or not, she was a grown woman. Lifting her head up, she moved to stride right on by the skeleton. A priestess as a charity case for undead monsters now? That was a _real_ joke. "You can tell her thanks, but no thanks. I can take care of myself."

He moved to follow after her. "hey, kid. this isn't the kind of place you should just--"

" _Buzz off_ , bones," she turned to glare at him, stopping him in his tracks. "I can do this on my own."

"...fine," Sans relented with a shrug, "don't say i didn't warn ya, kid." He stared at her for a moment longer with an unreadable look in his white eyes, and then vanished through what must have been his teleportation ability.

The initial smug feeling of being victorious didn't last for long. It slowly sunk in that she was in a completely unfamiliar area that was not only cursed, but especially dangerous to humans. And she had just told a potential guide and ally to leave---all because she felt offended by the notion that she needed to be looked after.

"That was really stupid, wasn't it," she muttered to herself, eyes warily taking in the new surroundings---up close and personal instead of from distance. She definitely felt colder now that she was inside of Glast Heim and rubbed at her arms in some effort to ward off the uneasy chills creeping through her limbs.

What was done was done. Her only choice now was to head on inside and hope that this "Dark Lord" had one of the items she was searching for. And she didn't even have a vague idea of how she would convince him to give it to her. As far as planning went, she was perhaps a little too lacking and a little too spontaneous.

Her eyes stayed wide and alert as she meandered through the crumbling paths. There was definitely an over-abundance of plant life curling and growing from the cracks in the old stones, but everything appeared muted in color and almost half-dead instead of fresh and healthy. There was no vibrance to anything---it was all dull. That was probably due to lack of sunlight--at least, partially. The other part may very well have been the curse that the king unleashed upon it when dabbling into ancient sorcery.

And it made her wonder more about Geffenia, the ancient magic city, as well. Geffen's dungeon down below the tower went deep down into the ground. No one had ever gone past the fourth level and those who encountered the entity that called that place home were never the same again. Perhaps the same magic that brought Glast Heim to its knees had also devastated Geffenia.

It was something to keep her mind occupied with as she explored, if nothing else. There was little of much interest to see as she made her way through the linear paths of the forgotten kingdom. The hedges had probably been quite spectacular at some point in time. She could see the work of true craftsmanship in what was left of them. It looked as though they had some very intricate designs to them before they were withered and destroyed.

Broken stone columns lined each fork and turn through the hedgework, some even forcing her to climb up and over them where they had fallen into the path through. The fog had become more dense now that she was deep in the midst of the cursed kingdom, making her way forward not nearly as clear as she would like. And she desperately wished she had asked Sans more questions when she had the chance. She didn't know where to find the fallen king and the eerie silence was beginning to unnerve her the longer that it stretched.

"Howdy!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the silence was abruptly shattered by----a flower?

The priestess squinted down at the smiling golden flower, which looked strange popping out of a stone pathway and into the low-hanging mist. But there was something unsettlingly familiar about it. Wasn't this flower similar to the one that...?

Her eyes narrowed at the plant monster. It had to be the same one. She took on a defensive stance. "I remember you. You attacked a _child_."

The flower's inviting expression wilted a little with the leaves hanging from its stem. "Heeheehee! I was just trying to teach them an important lesson!"

She didn't budge and grasped the grip on her staff more securely. This thing could definitely not be trusted. But why was it _here_? First the skeleton had been following her, and now this thing?

"Why would you assault a defenseless child?" she pressed.

The flower's smile took on a rather disturbing edge. "You know it well, don't you, human? Your kind teaches children the same thing! In this world, it's kill or be killed."

She hated that phrase. _Hated_ it.

"That's the wrong thing to teach anyone," she retorted with a frown. "Humans and monsters don't have to kill each other. There are other ways---more peaceful ways---to deal with conflict."

"Oh, but I know the truth," the flower claimed in a sing-song voice. "The truth about why you humans resort to violence. Why you keep this war going."

Her expression took on a skeptical edge. She doubted that the flower monster really knew anything at all, but she waited. And when it didn't continue, she impatiently snapped, "Well? What is it, then?"

The facial features in the middle of the blossom twisted into something sinister. She took a step back, crossing her staff in front of her. The entire pitch of its voice changed into something that made her want to cover her ears, "You're all afraid! Cowards! If you don't fight, you'll die! Monsters can die and come back, but what about you? Oh, that's right... the Gods stripped away your ability to save! When you die, you die for good! Keheeheehee!"

Ability to... save? What did that even _mean_? This flower was spouting utter nonsense! Of course someone couldn't come back when they died!

The flower monster appeared unperturbed by her confusion and incredulous face. "What a pity! What a pity! But you know as well as we do that something is changing, don't you?"

"I... I don't know _what_ you're even talking about, you--"

"I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!" they introduced. "And I have come here to give you a little word of advice, human."

"Keep your 'advice' to yourself, demon flower," she bit out scathingly. "And don't go attacking any more helpless children."

"I promise this is im~por~tant~!" Flowey bobbed back and forth, the cheerful tone returning to their voice. "After all, I risked coming back here to tell you~ Have a little gratitude, human."

"Gratitude? Hah." she scoffed. "Alright. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Flowey," she relented. There was a tiny chance that the flower might know something that could be to her advantage. And she needed anything she could get. "What information do you have? Is it about Glast Heim?"

The golden flower's expression turned grim and serious. "Stay away from the smiley trashbag. You'll regret it otherwise."

She stared uncomprehendingly, blinking several times. What the heck kind of a monster was the 'smiley trashbag'? Did he mean... "The fallen king?"

Flowey's face shifted back into a devilish grin. "That old fool? Hee hee! No, I mean the skeleton. The short one. He's bad news."

" _Sans_?" She almost wanted to laugh. He was one of the few monsters that had been helpful so far, even if he was doing so in the best interests of someone else. But he seemed to be one of the least threatening out of anyone she had met so far.

"I warned~ you~~!" Flowey sang, bouncing, "Bye-bye, human!"

And just like, the flower burrowed back into the ground and disappeared. She waited a moment and poked at the spot it came up from with the end of her staff. The ground was solid. How did the flower even fit into---?

Well, she lived in a world of magic. She ought to leave it at that. But why would the flower that attacked Frisk appear out here just to give her a warning about Sans? That was odd. And she did not feel even an inkling of a threat from the skeleton man.

She'd just put that behind her, she decided. The flower likely just wanted to cause trouble. She couldn't trust anything a flower that liked to attack young children said---or someone who believed in that terrible 'kill or be killed' outlook on life, for that matter. Horrible.

But now she was alone once again and the silence returned, making every little crinkle of leaves or branches unnerving to the senses. Just after she started walking again, her eyes were drawn over toward the hedges nearby, where she saw what looked like a dark figure with a helmet overlooking the area and holding a lance as dark as their black armor. Her breath caught in her throat. It didn't see her, did it...? A very light clop reached her ears and a distant neigh---more distant-sounding than it should have been considering that the figure supposedly riding it was not too far away. She froze into place, watching with her eyes only as it went by and not daring to make a move in the mean time.

The noises and the figure melted back into the mist, but the chill that had prickled up the back of her neck remained, her breaths short. There was no way she was going to be able to fend off a knight on horseback. A small flower, sure, but a staff would not do much to protect her against a towering, armored being like that. She needed to get away from here before it came back around again.

Her steps started off slow and quiet, but began to gain speed when she heard another ghastly neigh from somewhere behind her. She hurried between two busted columns of aged rock and then found herself at an old stairway leading up to a door into a large... church? That was what it had probably been at _some_ point, but she felt a great concentration of magic power coming from within the enormous structure---very unfriendly, deep, and unfathomably dark. The iciness in the air dropped several more degrees as she took a few cautious steps toward it.

Somehow, she had the feeling that the Dark Lord must be inside of there. The magic reeked of death and decay.

_Undead_.

Any priest in her shoes probably would have been delighted by that. It was against the undead and demonic spirits that priests shone the brightest and excelled the most. Those monsters were harmed by healing spells---the opposite power to their dark origins: light. She spent many years perfecting various abilities and spells that were most suited to these tasks.

But it was no longer that simple. She felt hesitant. Was it even right to obliterate the undead monsters? Did they not have new life, no matter what they were reborn from? And knowing that the this place was filled with the cursed souls of a once prosperous and respected kingdom made her feelings of unease grow further. She did not have the right to put these souls to rest or tarnish their undead forms. And besides, what if down underneath of this evil influence, they were actually something like Sans?

It didn't sit well with the priestess. She would have to try to navigate her way through and find the Dark Lord without resorting to her priestly abilities to fell every undead monster in the way. And judging from the amount of that magical and physical stench that seemed to lurk beyond the doors, she had her work cut out for her.

A shrill whinny from somewhere close behind finally forced her to put misgivings behind her. With one quick glance behind her, she ascended the stairs, stepping over the remains of another fallen column, and entering the broken doorway into the ancient church. The vast entrance hall alone was enough to render her immobile with awe. There were walls on either side some several feet away, and up ahead were empty and decrepit pews of rotting wood, and a large pipe organ up behind the empty altar. It must have been quite beautiful when it was new. Prontera Parish was very small in comparison. And this was only the very front of the church. There were doorways on either side that led out further. She felt particularly swayed by the one on the right---it was leading closer to that collection of darkness she sought.

Her footsteps echoed upon the aged, purple-hued stone as she passed by what was left of the rows of pews, her staff clacking upon the floor with every step she took. The enclosure was vast, but somehow not nearly as silent as it had been outside. She could hear the sound of shuffling and grunts, which were not comforting, but at least masked her own sounds from standing out too much. Swallowing a wave of fear down, she turned into the right doorway and into the next area.

It was nothing like the front of the church had been. The priestess gasped, backing up against the wall right beside the doorway in. Almost directly to her right, the flooring dropped off into an endless abyss. There was a path further onward, but the steep cliffs crumbled off along either side of it and in many places further into the remains of the church. One wrong step and it could all be over.

For one brief instant, she desperately missed the safety and warmth of the Prontera Parish and everything she left behind. Simulations where you could not be harmed, kind but stern sisters to teach you the ways of priesthood and the power nestled into belief in the Gods, a place to always feel welcome and protected from the outside world.

And she gave it up for this. Nothing but uncertainty at every corner, every step---a world she knew next to nothing about, where books couldn't be counted on to teach you all that you needed to know. A world that showcased the worst of humanity, the worst of magic, and everything that had long since been hidden away like a secret full of shame. She could lose her life in an instant. She could fail to find answers, fail to find anything that she was searching for. Sans had been right---this was not her business and not her duty. It was a self-imposed quest to find the truth and try to summon the winds of change in an age-long war.

But she couldn't turn back. Something within her burned with desire---to know, to see, to experience. How could she go back to a life of seclusion, or worse yet, a life that would be handed over to the high-ranked officials of the Midgard military to use as they wished for their own selfish and destructive purposes?

Trembling, she stepped away from the wall. The truth was out there, and whether she was afraid of heights and a dozen other things or not, she had to go forward. She had to try. Maybe Glast Heim and its secrets and past had nothing to do with her, but the well-being and mercy of the world did---everyone had their own part to play. And if she was not going to be part of the war, she hoped to be at least a part of what would end it.

Her shoes shuffled across the floor with careful, small strides, her eyes staring at the narrow path just in case a part of it suddenly collapsed. When she safely made it across the most intimidating part, she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. That was the worst of it. From here on, the solid areas of stone floor and walls were wider. And she was getting closer yet to where the core of the darkness seemed to lay.

_Clink, clink_...

The priestesses head swiveled around. There was a noise that sounded like a light clack of chains from somewhere nearby, coupled with monotone mumbling. She inched a little further onto the safety of the more sturdy stone flooring. It seemed to be coming from a short path off to the left, around a corner...

And then, around that corner, the source glided in, airborn. The floating being was clothed in rich red and purple, with an extravagant hat on its head of snake-like golden hair and a large cross covered in thorns hanging over its back. Its gold eyes were affixed to the open, hovering tome in front of it, crackling with magic.

The muttering was clearer, now, and instead of the monotone voice she was hearing, the otherworldly tone was changing pitch constantly--- _disturbingly_.

"And untO them **hE** called **DEATH**. SoUls rent in **tWain** , sTained by **grEEd** and **avArice**..."

Its eyes found hers. She sucked in a sharp breath. It changed its course and started slowly drifting in her direction. The priestess took that as her cue to move, dashing frantically to her right. The undead creature---priest?---continued to follow, but the pace was very languid as it floated along. Sparks of magic were growing more intense, but she kept a wide berth between them, hurrying with a leap across a short chasm she definitely would have thought twice before trying to jump before.

And it was a good thing she had. The area she had been standing on the other side just prior was briefly decorated with an ancient magic circle that quickly erupted into sharp spikes of earth that jutted up from the floor.

"No **LIFE** shall bE **alloWed** by these gAtes, bY the **CURSE** \---evEr preSent, shall **ConSuMe All**."

She didn't stick around near enough to hear the rest. There was no telling what that thing would have done if it had gotten close or what she state she would be in if she had gotten caught in that mess of spikes--which had since disappeared and returned the flooring to normal. And she was not anxious to find out.

Her magical senses led her toward another small stairway and door. The pulse of darkness beyond was almost tangible. It had to be her destination----the very presence of the monster she sought. And that was that thought that drove her straight through the doorway without looking back.

The cold beauty of the cursed church was instantly replaced by earthy tones of brown and aged amber. She walked in at the high point of the area, overlooking a vast and square-like shaped enclosure that stretched further than her eyes could see. There was a steep decline a few feet from where she stood, swooping down to another flat area a long ways below that was lined with half-crumbled and weathered arches and columns. Beyond those, to the right and left, she could see lines of gravestones on either side, each bearing the symbol of a cross. Further in, it was difficult to see, but there seemed to be a general motif of crosses and earthen patches of dirt with graves in neat rows.

She had walked in a graveyard. And the musty scent of dirt and mold make her nose wrinkle. This is where the Dark Lord chose to stay? She wondered why he had not chosen his own throne room or something in his castle. Why the church's graveyard, of all places? Did he feel some remorse for all the lives that had suffered and been cut short because of him?

Well, she had bigger things to be concerned about. Now that she was where she felt that she needed to be, a new problem arose. With the heavy concentration of dark energy and magic here, she couldn't pinpoint the source amongst it. This place was probably crawling with undead and other unpleasant and likely aggressive creatures. For all she knew, the monster she was looking for was not here at all.

"A--Agility up!" she chanted, briefly enjoying the brisk but warm gust that engulfed her. This time, she decided to be more cautious, flitting with quick steps a little ways and then stopping briefly to look around. There was no map to assist her here. She would have to play it by eye and ear. And so far, neither one were giving her much of an idea where to go. She could go straight down and head inward, as that seemed to be the most obvious route to take, but a part of her was curious about this graveyard down below the church. At the Prontera Parish, gravestones were placed outside where the flowers left by the deceased's loved ones could get sunlight and the resting souls be smiled down upon by the Gods. And yet here, there was no light, no flowers, and nothing that showed care. In fact, all of the graves looked the same---identical, as if each person was not an individual at all, but that this had been some kind of dumping ground for a large amount of dead people.

Was the Dark Lord here to keep the lost souls trapped in this kind of place? She was certain she felt other presences among the kingdom, but this was the largest concentration of them in one place. And she might have been completely wrong about the fallen king, too. Who was to say there was not something else lurking in this kingdom that was even more cursed than he?

While she thought to herself, she lowered herself down a level of the large resting place, taking the path under the left arch. As she came upon a few rows of graves, she slowed. The names were indecipherable---either a language she could not read or too worn away to read properly. And each was just as uniform as they appeared from further away. Unlike the dirty and stained stone paths, the grave markers were strangely not as worn down and broken. It was as if they withstood what time did to the rest of the place.

Odd. So very odd...

Making a small humming noise under her breath, she turned on heel, reconsidering her earlier decision. Going further in might be the best idea, after all.

When she turned, however, she found herself just a few scarce feet away from a moaning zombie, its skin green and half-rotted, hair frayed, and coming at her at a pace much faster than she would have anticipated. With a squeak, she all but ran in the opposite direction, heart jumping into her throat. The sight of the undead monster was not something she was terribly unfamiliar with---she had seen them in simulations plenty of times, but that was nothing compared to being faced with a _real_ one. The stench alone made her want to wretch and get as far away from the zombie as possible.

Swiftly, she turned a corner. The decaying body seemed to be losing interest in her, pausing before it started to drunkenly swerve off in another direction. Good, she thought. It did not seem too bright. She spared it just one more passing glance to make sure it was not changing its mind before she decided to follow the tall stone structure she had taken refuge against. It seemed to be shaped in a zig-zag pattern. The agility burst she had given herself was beginning to die away and she took brief pause again when she reached an area that looked startlingly like one she had already seen. In fact...

Her eyes traveled up a steep incline. A few of the structures and stones were cracked or broken in different ways, but she was standing beneath another arch and at another four-way fork in the path. This place seemed to be structured in a pattern, from the looks of it.

"GUUUUUUU!!"

She didn't even have time to prepare or brace herself. From behind, something collided heavily into her shoulder and sent the young woman sprawling onto the ground, the wind temporarily knocked right out of her. She barely had the piece of mind to call out, "Heal!" before dizzily scrambling back up to her feet. The pain in her shoulder disappeared, but her vision was still seeing double---double of what looked like a purple zombie monster with soulless red eyes, a steel, sharptoothed brace around its face and ratty lavender clothing. She shook her head to try to get it back on straight, stumbling backward as the creature lunged for her again.

Like the ghoulish thing she had run into prior, it was moving very slow---but for this monster, it was because of a steel ball latched to its bloodied ankle that it was dragging behind it. For a moment, she raised her free palm toward the monster, but then lowered it shakily. No matter what kind of evil had taken root within it, she still could not bring herself to attack it with healing magic. Biting her lip, she decided to turn tail and work her way down toward the center.

"Agility uuu--UUUAHHHH!?" her spell casting was cut short into a cry of alarm as she nearly ran straight into another monster turning the corner down below. Like the one slinking and groaning behind her, it was dragging a steel ball, but wearing striped, torn clothing. And this one was a skeleton---much taller than the one she knew as Sans. And a lot less articulate.

She dodged the first intended hit with its heavily-cuffed hands---narrowly, but the second caught the priestess in the side before she could try to deflect it with her staff. Yet again, she found herself down in the dirt. And she panicked. "H-Heal! Heal! Heal heal heal!"

It was overkill and a big mistake---one that the church taught trainees not to do when you were in a dangerous situation. But desperation and fright had gotten the best of her. She wasn't prepared for what it would feel like being attacked in a non-controlled environment. And there was no time to think on it. The healing gave her a small boost of energy, enough for her to scamper away from the skeletal monster before it inflicted another blow. And from the dripping of a liquid out of the bottom of her bag, it seemed as though one of her blue pots had busted open and spilled inside when she fell down.

This was not going well.

Keeping ahead of the slow-moving menaces, she found herself at another grave site in the very dead center of the graveyard. It was different from the others in the set-up, the plots and markers arranged around what looked like a wooden bridge shaped like a giant cross. And as she had surmised earlier, the pattern was pretty clear now---everything in this decrepit underground burial ground was arranged into four ways and four paths that stemmed from the branches of the wooden bridge.

But there was still no sign of the "monster masquerading as a skeleton", as Sans had put it. The fallen king did not seem to be among anything that came after her so far. And with all the different and visually symmetrical directions and structures, she wasn't sure where to go from here. Nor was there much time to think about it. The groaning and grating sound of steel scraping on stone were getting closer again---and to her horror, more and more of the undead monsters were gathering from each opening in the paths. A few of the green-skinned ghouls burst ahead of the others, much faster on their rotting feet and closing in quickly.

She sprinted for the bridge. And it wasn't until she was several feet onto it that she realized that it was the worst blind decision to make. From behind and all three other ends, the hordes of undead were blocking the exits and gathering on the ground below, reaching toward her with claws and half-bone, half-flesh arms. And floating in to join them were several ghastly skeletal figures cloaked in deep blue, flexing two sets of teeth---one in their skulls and one large set embedded into their middles.

This was a nightmare. And she was quite literally trapped within it. She came to the center of the wooden cross and gasped as she felt two sets of slimy, flesh-eaten hands grab at her ankles. The slower monsters were catching up, eyes gleaming hungrily at her as struggled to remember her abilities and spells.

"Kyr--"

She was cut off by a overgrown, sharp fingernails scraping and biting painfully into her right leg.

"KYRIE EI-- _erugh_!"

Again she was interrupted, this time by the brunt of cuffed fists colliding into her hip. And a third blow struck the arm holding her staff---the object flying from her grasp and clattering down off the side of the bridge and beneath the grimy feet of the undead.

When she looked back up, one of the purple zombies had lifted the large steel ball at its feet, preparing to heft it right on top of her and her heart stopped---

"K--Kyrie _ELEISON_!"

A shield of divine protection formed itself around her in a myriad of stained glass-like pieces just in the nick of time, deflecting the steel ball and making its holder fall off of the bridge with a loud groan of surprise in the process. But she knew that the protection would not last long before it shattered---she didn't have much time.

"H--heal!" she chanted strongly.

Seconds passed, and to her shock, nothing happened. "...Heal?" she tried again, uncertainly---but to no avail. Her wounds were not being healed. No warmth of green magic was taking her pains away seamlessly.

Her magic power was depleted. And that realization set in like the coldest chill she felt yet. Again and again, the shield protected her from the attacks, but it was growing weaker. More and more monsters were clambering up to her, mobbing mercilessly.

She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but a pleading call came out before she could stop it. "S--Sans!"

All that she could hope was that he was following her now. Still. Her very life likely depended on it. "Are you out there? Please! I'm sorry! I need help!"

_Clang_. _Clang_. The shield was wavering against the endless assault.

And there was no answer. Of course there wasn't. There was no reason for there to be an answer in the first place. She already told him to beat it because her pride, of all things, got in the way. She so stubbornly wanted to prove that was she was capable. And now all that she had proven was that she blindly rushed in without thinking things through.

"well, well. never told me you were the _life_ of the party."

Her eyes broadened, immediately snapping toward the source of the voice. "S... Sans?" she breathed incredulously.

It didn't seem possible, but there the short skeleton was, hands casually settled into his pockets and grinning at her from beyond the undead mob. The hood of his worn hunter's coat was draped up over his skull. He didn't move right away, seemingly amused by the situation she had landed herself into.

"A---A little _help_ please!?" she shouted, yelping as the holy shield began to crack. "These are your family or friends or ancestors or something, aren't they!? Can't you do something?!"

"ouch, kid. ouch." He winced as though he was the one being struck. "i'm not a _dead ringer_. there's no resemblance there at all. that's a grave misunderstanding."

_Clang_.

"Not the time for jokes!" she informed him with a dose of panic laced in, raising her voice an octave.

"c'mon. there's never a bad time for jokes," he argued. "these guys are already in _stitches_!"

_**CRACK**_.

The shield gave way, shattering into magic fragments that promptly disappeared. She gasped, a soundless scream catching in her throat as a dozen different rotting and bony hands bore down upon her. One out of the many sharply gripped her shoulder, and her existence was suddenly ripped away.

And just as quickly, she burst back into being again, stumbling forward several steps from the momentum until she fell to her knees and hands on the stone of the top level of the graveyard, panting. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a distinct pair of white slippers stride up to her side.

"Soooo..." he started, crouching down to face her with a wide grin. She looked away.

"Save it," she muttered grumpily. "I know I made a mistake." The priestess sighed, rubbing her sore arm. "Thanks. I guess I probably wouldn't be alive now if it wasn't for you." After a moment, she added very softly, "I didn't actually think you'd come."

To her surprise, he dropped her staff down at her side. She blinked at it and then finally looked up at him as she gingerly took the fallen object into her hands.

"got a little banged up, huh?"

Her cheeks colored. "I'll be fine. I can heal. After I let my magic power regenerate."

"guess this place is a little too deadly for you to be hangin' around for that," he mused, reaching down to rest his joints on her shoulder once again. "i'll take you some--"

"Wait!" she cut him off. "I--I can't go yet. I haven't found the king---the Dark Lord. That's why I came here."

The skeleton monster sighed heavily, sounding weary. "kid, you're in no state to be facin' that thing. he ain't gonna listen to ya talk. first thing he'll do is set ya on fire."

She bit her lip. "But I haven't... I haven't even tried. Maybe I could..."

"there's bravery and then there's stupidity. and kid, you ain't makin' any smart choices. ya gonna tell me i saved your skin so you can go have it burned off?"

Her teeth chewed upon her lip even harder, almost breaking into it. He was right. She was extremely lucky that he came to her aid, through whatever means he had used. There was no doubt that she would have been a goner otherwise. And it would be lousy to repay him by immediately throwing herself back into the danger he just fished her out of.

"besides, if ya go up in flames..." His left eye socket winked at her. "you'll be too hot to handle!"

... _Seriously_?

She gave him a suffering stare, but finally relented, her shoulders slumping. "Alright, I understand." The priestess lifted off of her arms, leaning her backside down over her feet. With all that he had done already, it seemed rude to ask anything more, but she was stranded here. "If it's not too much trouble, could you bring me back near Geffen?"

Sans shrugged. "if that's what ya want, kid. but i had a better idea."

"Like what?" she inquired, genuinely curious. "Do you know a lot of other friendly undead communities or something?"

He laughed outright. "kid, i thought you'd catch onto this by now, but... i'm not an undead monster."

Honestly, out of all the things that this guy said, that one took her by complete surprise. He wasn't serious, was he? He was a skeleton. Of course he was of the undead type, even if _he_ didn't seem think so. But knowing him, he was just jerking her chain. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Well, where is that you go, then? Is there some kind of secret monster hang-out?"

"soooorta," he responded in a lazed tone. "you'll have to see for yourself---if you want, that is. but it's a _cool_ place. really _ice_. i think you'll like it."

She briefly wondered if it was the same place that Toriel and Frisk were hiding out in, but kept her lips buttoned on that. If he was offering, it wasn't as though she really had any other place to go, anyway. Geffen was not a place she had any personal attachment to. And she was pretty interested in what kind of monster company he kept. If he was considering bringing her there, they probably wouldn't attack her, right?

Flowey the flower flashed across her mind, but she shoved the echoes of its warning away. Sans just saved her for the second time. If there was anyone she could trust right now, it had to be him.

"I'll go," she finally responded. "Nothing to lose at this point."

His bone brows raised briefly before settling back down over his eye sockets and the flecks within. "heh. not even gonna ask more about it? and ya trust me just like that? you're a strange kid."

"I'm not a _kid_ ," she emphasized tartly. "But if you were going to take me to the fiery pits of hell and leave me there, I doubt you would waste your time saving my skin multiple times, whether this Toriel asked you to or not."

"heh..." The luster of amusement in his white eyes seemed to be promising an incoming joke, but he stopped short, his skull shifting to the side. Looked like they had company---of the very unfriendly variety. "time to go," he said, gripping tight to her shoulder. She closed her eyes, hoping it would help with the teleportation whiplash as they were whisked away. Traveling by Sans was a lot different from warp portals. Where the latter materialized you in and out of pillars of light, Sans' method was like ripping your body out of the world through a tiny hole and then just as sharply and disorientingly reforming it where you landed.

Closing her eyes ultimately didn't help much. She all but splatted into something very cold when they touched down again and felt a familiar sensation---pinpricks of ice. The pressure on her shoulder let up and released. Her eyelashes fluttered open and were immediately met with a dazzling brightness that sparkled all over the ground, reflecting light of soft pinks, purples, and blues. The hues were almost a magic in themselves, rendering her speechless as she looked about with her mouth agape. White snowflakes fell gently and soundlessly from above, causing the sensation of prickling ice upon her skin and habit before they almost instantly melted away.

It looked like something out of one of grandfather's storybooks. There were many quaint little houses with snow-dusted roofs, almost as if they were like gingerbread structures with frosted tops. Ornate street lamps cast a warm yellow glow on the ground below, adding to the plethora of soft and inviting colors that shimmered over the snow. A few evergreens were gathered in little bunches, topped with the fluffy white that the rest of the place was, and a giant tree stood a little ways to the north, decorated festively and lined with gifts beneath. And not far from the little bridge they had teleported onto was a frosted sleigh, standing on a small pedestal.

It was beautiful. And for the life of her, she could not figure out why she felt that it should be familiar to her somehow...

Sans crunched through the blanket of snow until he was standing in front of her. He held his hands out on either side, gesturing to the snowy little town with his almost ever-present smile tugging up the sides of his skull.

"welcome to snowdin, kid. home of the monsters. and formerly known to your kind as lutie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vole, the last name of the human royal family, is an anagram for both evol and love. :)
> 
> Thanks a lot for reading this "monster" of a chapter that I have written for you! I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback! It fills me with DETERMINATION!


	5. Unexpected Comrades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans introduces Reader to Lutie---now called Snowdin---and to the townsfolk in a certain popular establishment. She discovers that she will no longer be alone on the next step of her journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Optional music accompaniment for this chapter: Theme of Lutie - Snow in My Heart -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vXI3Kmdosk

"Wait, did you say... Lutie?"

The skeleton nodded. "formerly, yeah. i like the new name better."

"But..." She couldn't wrap her head around this. Looking around, she gestured blankly into the air. "This, that---all of this... it's a myth, isn't it? Lutie doesn't exist. It's a fairytale we're told about as kids."

"if it doesn't exist, where are ya now, kid?"

She didn't have an answer for that. By all means, it did look like what Lutie had been described as in books and from grandfather's tales. But people had proven that the so-called entrance to the snowy paradise was missing---that it never really existed in the first place. Al De Baran was supposedly the gateway to a land of ice and snow that led to every child's fantasy. But no one ever found anything. No sleepy, snowy little village. No gigantic factory of endless toys. It was just a silly myth meant to tickle the fancy of young children. You grew out of believing in Lutie.

"still speechless, huh?"

"If it exists," she started slowly, still taking in the surrounding with something between awe and skepticism. "Why is that no one can find it? Even the Kafra teleportation service has to hold in their laughter when a kid comes around asking to go to Lutie. It's just a whimsical place that was made up."

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. "you humans are funny. belief is a power in itself, y'know? humans stopped believing in this kind of magic a long time ago. so to them, it _doesn't_ exist."

Her eyes drew from the wintry scenery back to the skeleton monster. "But I can see it. I don't even know if I believe it, but I'm still seeing it."

"you believed in where i was takin' ya. that's enough."

It still didn't make much sense to the priestess, but she didn't push it. And besides, now that he mentioned it... if this was the home of the monsters, why would he want to bring her here in the first place? Wasn't he worried?

She licked her lips, feeling the cold upon them. "I'm surprised that you would bring me here. If this is where monsters live, why bring _me_ here? I doubt any monster is going to be happy to see a human in their safe haven."

His shoulders shrugged in his typical nonchalant manner. "not all monsters live here, of course. just some of us that decided we like the cold and like to keep away from the humans. plenty of monsters are into this war thing, but not the ones here. we like it peaceful."

"You didn't answer my question."

She met his eyes imploringly. He sighed and glanced away. "look, kid, i ain't worried about ya attacking anyone. i was following ya back in glast heim, keepin' and eye on ya like i told tori i would."

So he had been following her that whole time, then? Strange. She never once spotted him. Could he cloak and vanish from view like an assassin or something? There was a lot she didn't know about him. Maybe it was more possible than it sounded.

"i saw ya running from the undead monsters," he continued, "but even when they attacked ya or knocked ya down, you didn't resort to fightin' 'em. and i know what priests can do to them, kid. your heal spells could've gotten ya out of a jam easy." He paused there, the white flecks in his eye sockets meeting her gaze again. "but ya didn't. not even once. even when you were desperate and in danger."

Somehow, under the scrutiny of those eyes, she felt a little flustered. Hastily, she turned her eyes downward. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I didn't leave Prontera to do that. I want to help end the war, not be a part of it."

"undead are pretty much already dead though. why'd ya hesitate? can't do any worse to 'em."

His tone sounded so genuinely puzzled that she lifted her gaze back up. "I... I don't know, honestly. It felt... wrong. Their souls must not be content if they raised themselves from the dead. Who am I to put those souls to a forceful rest? Their feelings toward humans is understandable, given what they have been through."

"heh heh. you are one weird kid."

She frowned, one cheek puffing out slightly. "Stop calling me a kid already. I'm an adult."

"how many centuries have ya lived, then?"

The priestess gave him an unamused look.

"see? you're still a kid, kid."

"And what about you?" she challenged suddenly. "How long have you been undead? And why aren't you anything like the other undead monsters I've come across?"

It was bizarre. All of the other undead monsters she crossed paths with seemed only intent on attacking and none of them spoke beyond moaning and groaning or could be reasoned with. Why was Sans so different?

"i told ya i'm not undead."

And now they were back to _this_ again? She huffed, wondering what he had to hide. I mean, it was obvious that he was a skeleton. Skeletons were undead. This wasn't exactly a difficult alchemy equation or something out of her level of understanding.

"what reason would i have to lie to ya about that?" he inquired, shuffling his bunny slippers in the snow. "ya keep lookin' at me like i'm crazy or pullin' your leg."

"You're a _skeleton_ ," she pressed vehemently.

"yep," he confirmed. "no bones about it."

"Skeletons are _undead_ ," she explained, as if trying to patiently tell something to a child that was intent on not listening.

"not gonna drop this, are ya?"

She crossed her arms. "No. That's a silly thing to be in denial about."

Sans heaved a sigh and then gestured for her to stand up. "c'mon. i can prove this easily. you'll see right through me. promise."

The priestess quirked an eyebrow at him as she raised up to her feet, dusting snow off of the front of her habit in the process. She faced him with an incredulous glint in her eyes. This was clearly just going to be a joke. He was full of jokes. "Alright. Prove it."

He pointed a bony finger straight at her. "you're gonna prove it for me, kid."

"Me?" she pointed to herself in turn. "Pfft. Okay, bones. How do you propose I 'prove' it?"

"this ain't difficult if ya think about it, kid. you've got a perfectly good method of findin' out if i'm tellin' the truth or not."

She did? A frown of thought worked its way back onto her face. Why would he think that she--

Oh. Right. Healing spells.

... _Healing spells_!?

"Are you _crazy_?" she shouted at him, losing her composure. "That's holy magic! You'd get hurt! You could die... again!"

That same irritating grin remained plastered across his skull. "c'mon, kid. gimme your best shot."

She shook her head wildly, backing up on the little bridge and moving further away from him. "No way! I said I don't want to hurt anyone! I'm not going to attack you!"

"i'm not an undead monster, so it's no problem," he countered casually, closing the distance she tried to put between them.

She was torn. All of this just to prove a point? He didn't look even slightly worried and that in itself seemed to say a lot---enough that she was no longer so sure that she knew the truth. But if she did hurt him, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself, whether he was asking for it or not. Her fingers tightened around her staff with indecision. What should she do?

"i don't make promises easy, kid. there won't be a scratch on me. it's perfectly safe."

Trust in what she knew or trust in this strange, mysterious monster that had saved her life twice?

Taking a deep breath, she extended one hand toward him reluctantly. Her fingers trembled. It would be fine, right? Sans didn't seem to have a death wish. And this entire journey so far had been a learning endeavor - in many cases, learning that what she _thought_ she knew was false.

"H----h... heal!" she finally burst out, squeezing her eyes shut.

She waited. No sound of a hard blow to his bones exploded into her ears. Cautiously, she peeked one eye open. Sans the skeleton stood in front of her, still grinning---and now looking even more amused than before.

"see?"

Her eyes blinked fully open. He was fine. There was no evidence of any damage. But her mind was still having trouble comprehending it----understanding that everything she thought she knew was actually mistaken and proven wrong in a single exception like this.

"Heal!" she tried again. Green light glowed around him briefly before fading."Heal! Heal! Heal!"

Miraculously, he stood completely untouched. And she realized a little too late that she was in no state to be taxing her magic again. She gripped her staff for balance, breathing hard.

"whoa, easy there, kid. don't overdo it." He reached a set of phalanges out to help steady her. "told ya i wasn't lying. and as nice as those heal spells feel, ya really need to give yourself a break."

"Y--You're really not..." she stammered. "But then what---what kind of monster are..."

"give it a rest, alright? here, follow me. i know a good place to go."

She opened her mouth as if to protest and demand an explanation, but then her stomach very suddenly made its presence known by rumbling loudly. She blushed, her mouth snapping shut.

Sans laughed. "just what i was thinkin'. grillby's has food. the _best_ food. and sounds like you could _stomach_ some right about now."

"I guess I'm a little hungry," she admitted faintly.

"grillbz will take care of that."

Her feet began to slow as she crunched her way through the soft fallen snow after him. When he realized she was lagging behind, Sans glanced over his shoulder. "y'alright, kid? need to sit down?"

Lightly, she shook her head. "No, I... it's not that. I just... I don't know if it's a good idea for me to go into a place like that. With monsters."

"ya suddenly feelin' bloodthirsty or somethin'?" he teased.

"They're not used to seeing humans here, are they?" She bit down on her lower lip, chewing more and more as the trepidation grew. "I just don't... I feel like I'm intruding here."

"heh. they won't lay a hand or paw or anythin' on ya," he assured her. Then, he winked. "you're with me. they'll understand."

She still wasn't certain, but nonetheless started after his lead again. Butterflies of anxiousness were having a party in her empty stomach. There were plenty of nice monsters, but judging by what she knew of her own species and the way they acted toward them and this war, she couldn't be sure that they wouldn't be wary of her. And they had every reason to be.

"if it makes ya feel any better, everyone took to frisk almost right away." He chuckled. "guess that might have somethin' to do with tori threatenin' to roast 'em if they laid a hand on 'em, but still."

"Frisk has been here?" Her interest was piqued again. Could this be the place that they were hiding in? Humans didn't come here. It made sense, didn't it?

"they sure have," Sans confirmed. "but i don't think tori was comfortable having them here. they visit sometimes, though."

That... seemed odd. "Wouldn't this be the safest place for Toriel to be?" she spoke her mind before she could reconsider. "If humans didn't come here, she wouldn't have to worry about being attacked."

She saw his shoulders rise and fall evenly a little ways ahead. "tori calls her own shots. i know there's someone around here she doesn't trust very much, so maybe that has somethin' to do with it. either way, it's not really my business, y'know?"

"I suppose," she muttered, unconvinced. Who would be here that Toriel had a problem with? Not that she knew much of anything about the goat monster or her relationships, but she still found herself curious.

The rest of the way through the snow-dusted streets and quaint houses was made in silence. Lutie---now Snowdin---gave off a feeling of warmth despite being in such a cold climate. The magic was every bit as ethereal as she had imagined it to be when she was a child. Some trees were decorated in lights and shiny garland, which almost seemed to flicker with a spell of their own. She smiled, for a moment just thinking about how happy children in Rune-Midgard would be to know that this was indeed a real place.

...Not that they could visit here, though. She knew better than that. If humans had cast away this magic, they would only embrace it again if they were to discover that monsters were staying here to avoid the conflict. That thought struck her to her core. This absolutely had to stay a secret. Sans was entrusting her with this knowledge. And if humans got their hands on it, there was no telling what could become of Snowdin.

She was so lost in thought that she nearly walked right on by after Sans had turned to approach one of the buildings. A tug on her sleeve caught her attention, pulling her from her inner musings. She blinked several times before she finally turned to face the skeleton.

"that dazzled by this place, huh? not that i can blame ya. must be somethin' to see when ya didn't think it actually existed. but this is where we're goin'." He pointed to a large orange sign up above that read "GRILLYBY'S" in bold letters. It didn't look that remarkably different from the various pubs that humans ran---at least from the outside.

But inside, there would be monsters. And she was very starkly aware of the fact that she was human.

"c'mon," Sans urged, pushing against the small of her back to guide her up to the door. "go on in. they won't bite. well, probably."

"What?" she squeaked, stiffening as she was faced with the large wooden door. "Why do I have to go in first? _You're_ the one they know!"

"gotta get over those fears, kid. they might look at'cha funny, but you mean no harm. and as long as that's true, ya got nothin' to fear."

She stared at the door with wide eyes, her heart beating quickly in her chest. There was still a feeling that she didn't belong here and wouldn't be welcome, but she tried to squash it down. She wanted to get along with monsters. And this was one of the first real steps that she needed to take---a step into their world.

Steeling herself, she wrapped her fingers around the handle and pushed the door open. Immediately, she was met with a wave of sweltering heat (which was a high contrast to the chill outdoors), a rich orange glow, and the chattering of numerous occupants within.

And then everything stopped. All of the noise ceased the instant the door was fully opened and she suddenly found a dozen or more pairs of eyes fixated on her. The priestess froze up, trying to force her brain to summon words to her lips as her eyes darted around in a frazzled manner. There was a monster that reminded her of the towering, flower-like plant she had seen in the Geffen fields, a horse monster, numerous ones that looked like canines, a rabbit monster, a bird...

A very nervous smile formed on her lips. 'Just remember what Sans said," she reminded herself inwardly. 'I don't mean any harm. I should just be, um---friendly!' She raised one arm almost mechanically, hand extended as though to wave---but she couldn't bring herself to complete the gesture. "H--Hello!" she greeted with the awkwardness of a thousand clumsy novices.

There was no response. Everyone continued to stare. Gods, what was she supposed to do?! She believed that they wouldn't assault her---or they definitely would have done so already, but she felt like turning tail and running straight back out at this point. Even with the enclosure as hot and cloying as it was, she felt the equivalent of ice water running down her back.

Before she could thaw her nerves enough to act on them, though, the short skeleton slipped by her, hands in his pockets, and casually strolled in.

"sup, guys?" he greeted with an ease that betrayed the tension in the room.

A few of the monsters lit up instantly at the sight of him. Her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Hey, Sans!"

"Sansy! I was hoping you'd come by to see me! I missssssed youuuu."

"Sans, buddy, nice to see you!"

"Good to have ya back again! Where ya been, Sans?"

"eh, y'know. i've been here and there," he replied simply. Turning halfway back around, he looked at the priestess expectantly. "well, kid? ya just gonna stand there? as _chill_ as i'm feelin', i think ya ought to close the door. grillby'd appreciate it."

Numbly, she reached to shut the door. Still unsure of herself and heaviness she brought with her presence, she remained standing in front of it.

"Whoa, Sansy! That'ssssssss a human, right?" the bunny sitting in a booth near the entrance peered between her and Sans numerous times before she settled her gaze on the skeleton. "You know 'em?"

"This one's not a kid, Sans," the gruff voice of the plant monster spoke. "What are you playing at bringing humans here?"

She stepped back to press against the door. This wasn't right. She was definitely intruding here, no matter what Sans seemed to think. He was just being too optimistic. There was no way that monsters would be happy to see a human like her, regardless of what she did or didn't do. She reached behind her for the handle.

"I should probably just---I'm sorry to disturb you all. Really, you have my apolo---uh..."

Her voice trailed off when she found one of the dog monsters standing on its hind legs in front of her, panting. Its eyes seemed to plead with her for something, its voice whining and ears twitching expectantly. She swallowed. This monster certainly didn't seem afraid of her, but she was more than aware that all eyes in the establishment were probably plastered right to her right now. Would it be wise to...?

With a brief note of hesitance, she reached a hand out and lightly patted the top of the dog's head. "Is this... is this what you want?"

After a moment, she pulled her hand back a little. But to her surprise, the dog yipped excitedly, bumping its head up and rubbing the fur on top of its head enthusiastically into her hand. She could have sworn that it looked like its neck got a little longer.

"Lesser dog let the human pet him!" One of the other dog monsters declared, pointing a white paw toward her from within its black robes. "And she isn't attacking him!"

"Don't let 'em fool you," another one growled. "One minute they're moving and the next they're gone and you're payin' for it."

"I'm not..." she tried to explain herself, dropping her hand away from the dog, who whimpered in dismay. "I don't want to---I didn't come here to--"

"Then you'll stab one of us in the back when we least expect it, right?" the canine monster in the tank top accused, ears flattened back and teeth bared and clutched around what looked like a bone. "I know how you work. You're all the same. You're manipulative and--"

"knock it off."

The interior fell into a brief silence again. Sans rarely seemed to talk without an edge of amusement to his voice, but the seriousness in his tone left no room for argument. And considering the looks on the faces of the other monsters, it was as much of a shock to them.

"she's harmless," he informed them resolutely, letting the words hang in the air for a moment. Then, he held a bony hand out to her with a grin. "c'mere, kid. you were hungry, right? let's get something to eat before that stomach of yours starts grumblin' about being ignored again."

She gave the whimpering monster in front of her another light pat to placate it before she finally pulled away from the door and accepted Sans' invitation. He led her straight up to the front and hoisted himself up onto one of the waiting stools, gesturing for her to do the same.

"have a seat. what would ya like? grillby's got some great food. burger, fries, noodles, fruit cocktail, you name it. and there's also one of the hottest items on the menu... the _sans_ -wiches."

The winks and puns generally didn't get much out of her, but she felt herself smiling just a little this time as she seated herself on the stool next to him and leaned her staff against the counter, bag at her feet. After a less than warm welcome by some of the monsters, she was glad that he was here with her, bad jokes and all. "What would you recommend?"

"heh heh heh. ya don't want my recommendations, kid. unless you like bottles of ketchup as much as i do."

She gawked at him. He wasn't _serious_ , was he? It was hard to tell with Sans. That grin might as well have been his own personal poker face.

"yeah, didn't think so," he shrugged. "how 'bout a dish of pasta with grillby's special cream sauce, then?"

"Pasta?" She blinked and then brightened. "Oh, um, sure. Haven't had that since I was a kid."

"really?" he remarked, clacking a boned digit on the well-polished counter. "well, i swore ya must've had a noodle loose to go wanderin' where ya did anyway. im- _pasta_ -ble for ya to head into glast heim alone otherwise."

She should have expected the food jokes. Sighing, she rested an arm up on the counter. Just as she was about to respond, a monster came through the back door and she looked up. The priestess gasped.

Fire. _Living_... fire? And dressed in a waiter's outfit and matching bowtie, even. With glasses. How did they not all catch on fire? Even magical fire was... well, dangerous.

"hey, grillbz," Sans greeted the fire-man and hooked a thumb to his left where she sat. "the usual for me and a dish of pasta for the lady."

The fiery head of the monster man in front of her seemed to flicker in her direction. She couldn't tell whether he was looking at her or not. Did he have eyes behind those glasses somewhere?

".... ..... ...... understood."

Just as quickly as the walking flame came in, he headed straight back through the door he entered. And now that she had seen the supposed owner of the place, she completely understood why it was so hot in here. He was made of fire, after all.

"that was grillby," Sans gestured toward the back exit. "he owns the place. great guy. doesn't talk much, but always happy to have customers here. and i hope you're ready for that cream sauce, since it's got a little _heat_ to it."

She snorted. "Everything here does, no doubt," she quipped.

Sans chuckled and she felt herself gradually growing more at ease now that most of the eyes that could have been staring at her suspiciously were to her back. "gotta hand it to him, though. he runs the hottest place in town."

"You come here pretty often, I take it?"

"all the time," he said, leaning back. "best place to wind down. good food, good friends, good times."

"I can imagine..." she trailed off. There was nothing like this back at the church. Meals were eaten in silence. Training and prayer took up most of the day. Any time you had alone was generally not spent with your fellow sisters or brothers in faith. The environment here was strange and so very different.

Human pubs were probably a lot like this, too. Sometimes in passing on an errand through Prontera, she could hear the guffaws and raucous noises coming from inside of them. And she always turned up her nose in disgust. But this was not quite the same. The chatter she first heard was carefree and light and full of warmth. It felt like humans were usually laughing at the expense of others, be it other travelers or various monsters. These creatures, however, seemed to genuinely enjoy each other's company. And they clearly adored Sans.

Her eyes drifted over to his skull as he stared ahead, appearing to be lost in thought. There was something about him that made everything feel a little less tense. Perhaps it was the puns or his smile, or some magic to him that she just didn't understand. But all this time, she didn't feel threatened by him at all. Flowey claimed he was bad news, but for all she knew, maybe the flower had gotten on his nerves and their relationship was not the greatest. And while it was true that he never really saved her or followed her in his own interests, he said himself that he didn't make promises easily. And why would he accept one having to do with a human he didn't even know?

What an odd fellow. He must have had a lot of respect for Toriel. And if he knew so much about Glast Heim, maybe he had once lived there, as well. Had the curse affected him in a strange way? Was that why he was a skeleton but not undead? The questions seemed endless and she knew that it would be moot to try to ask them. There were things he didn't want her to know and frankly, prying was just sticking her nose where it didn't belong. He was assisting her and had already shown her more kindness than most. The very least she could do was allow him that space.

"keep starin' like that kid and you'll see right through me."

"Ah!" she jumped, a flush lighting her cheeks with a wave of pink embarrassment. She had been staring at him that whole time, hadn't she? "Sorry. I was just...!"

"Hey, human." Her apology fell short as a voice to her left caught her attention. She swiveled around to face a red bird-like monster, their beak pursed as they scrutinized her. It wasn't the same unkind expression of suspicion as a few of the others had worn, but it still made her feel self conscious.

"Y--yes?" she finally replied, hoping the smile she tried to summon to her lips didn't look off-putting.

"How do you know Sans?"

She abruptly became aware of a lot of the chatter dying away and eyes upon her again. The priestess swallowed. "Well, um... actually, I found myself in a bit of trouble one night. And um... he showed up and helped me out. Scared the wits out of me, actually."

"she was lookin' a little green," Sans chimed in. "got caught up in an orc village. i lent her a hand, but she didn't find it too funny."

One of the two dogs in nearly identical black clothing let out a bark of laughter. "An orc village? I know humans are stupid, but walking into an orc village alone? That's like throwing them a big juicy bone!"

"By the way, we love bones!" the other one piped up with a wag of their tail.

The priestess felt even more heat rushing to her cheeks that had nothing to do with the overheated establishment. "I didn't know! I was just trying to get to Geffen and that looked like the fastest route..."

From her left, the bird monster cocked its head at her. "You been living underground or something? Orcs kill humans all the time. Even the little ones. They're merciless and way into this whole war thing."

She hadn't even been able to recognize what the creatures were, much less how much danger they posed. A pit opened up in her stomach, making her insides feel even emptier and colder. She rushed into all of this without knowing much of anything. And now she was feeling even more idiotic for doing so. That whole idea of having a purpose and a goal blinded her to the dangers. And worse yet, she had originally shoved off Sans' warning and even his guidance and ran straight into the heart of Glast Heim without knowing hardly a thing about the place or the curse that consumed it.

"I... grew up in Prontera," she spoke dryly through a lump in her throat. "I became an acolyte and stayed in the church. I didn't want any part of the war. They tried to force me to join a few days ago, so I... left. I ran away. I know I wasn't ready. But I didn't have a choice."

It felt strange saying it aloud, especially to a group of monsters that had zero reason to sympathize with her situation. But it seemed like they couldn't think any worse of her at this point. So she was stupid and a coward. At least she wasn't a killer. In the end, that was what mattered the most in her heart.

She nearly jumped off of the stool when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her gaze darted down to meet the rather unfocused eyes of the rabbit monster she had seen near the front. "We're all here for the sssssaaame reason," she slurred in a way that was inexplicably comforting. "We don't wanna be a part of the war either. That's why we come here. To get away and live peacefully, y'knows? And if ya wanna do that too, who're we to turn ya away?"

"Buns has a point," a deep voice declared from off to her right. She looked up to where the horse monster was adjusting his sunglasses on his face. "Human or not, we can respect that. For a girl from Prontera, you lack the malice we associate with the capital. If you lived sheltered in a place like, maybe it was for the best."

The priestess nodded mutely. She could feel a building warmth inside of her where the emptiness festered. Perhaps she could just stay here and live peacefully among monsters. They certainly seemed to be better company than the people at the Prontera Parish and there would be no lingering threat of being pressed into joining the war unwillingly. But...

No. She had made up her mind. She wasn't going to keep hiding and running away. There was something to believe in and she had no intention of giving up now.

"Thanks," she told them with a small smile. "But I can't stay here. I'm... done running away. I want to do whatever I can to help stop this war. No matter how small. Enough lives have been lost already."

The paw at her shoulder patted her once before retracting. Sans, who had been unusually quiet. leaned one arm on the counter. "well, kid... what do you plan to do now, then?"

She met the white eyes of the skeleton for a moment before she glanced at her own reflection in the clean counter top. Truth was, she hadn't thought that far ahead yet. But there were a few things weighing on her mind. "I'm not sure," she started, shifting on the stool. "I thought of going back to Glast Heim, but I don't think I'm ready for that. I don't know _what_ I'm ready for. I was going to head back to Geffen and try to go into the tower, but it's recommended not to go down there without a party." She scowled at the thought of Clyde and his offer. "And I certainly don't want to go with any of _them_." Her expression eased again and she released a long sigh. "But that leaves me at a standstill..."

"what if you had a party to go with?"

"Huh?" she rounded on the skeleton with a quizzical expression, which quickly morphed into displeasure. "You've got to be kidding. I'm not going to join a group. They go in there looking to make a fortune and---" she gestured wildly into the air. "And _murder_ things. I would _never_ \--"

"whoa, calm down," Sans held a hand up. "that's not what i was implyin'. i mean what if you had a party of say... monsters?"

"Monsters?" she repeated dumbly.

"monsters," he confirmed. "no one here's lookin' to do any killing. and i bet some of 'em have been cooped up here long enough that they'd like a little fresh air."

Fresh air in a _dank dungeon_? Another one of his jokes, clearly. But before she could say a word, two voices all but cried out excitedly.

"Oh, oh! Me! I was a good fighter back in the day! I was part of the royal guard!"

"Me too! That's how the hubby and I met, actually!"

And they clearly were enthused by the prospect. One look at their wagging tails said it all. But it made her stomach churn with discomfort.

"I can't drag anyone else into this," she said as she shook her head, frowning. "That's too dangerous. And there will probably be some humans down there most days. They even sneak in when the tower's closed sometimes, from what I heard." Granted, that was also from word of mouth in Prontera's streets, which she probably couldn't trust anymore at this point, but even so. "I don't want anyone here to get hurt and definitely not because of me."

"so ya plan to run into somethin' all by yourself again?" Sans inquired with the raised bone-ridge of a brow. "thought ya were smarter than that by now, kid."

"I can't ask any of you to--"

"you're not asking," he told her bluntly. "we're offerin'."

She hesitated, clutching her fingers into the fabric of the habit bunched in her lap. Before she could speak up again, though, the door at the back opened up and Grillby strode through. He set a plate of steaming pasta and a fork before her and slid a ketchup bottle over the counter to Sans.

".... ..... ..... sorry for the wait."

"O-Oh! No need to be---ah---Thank you." She smiled at him. The food honestly smelled delicious.

"... ....... ...... enjoy."

He was about to turn around and head back to the door, but stopped when Sans called out to him. "hey, grillbz. you've been in a dungeon or two in your day, right? think ya might be available to light the way through one?"

The fire entity looked over his shoulder. For some reason, even without eyes that she could see, she swore she could detect a lift in the fire over where his eyes would have been. "... .... .... it has been a long time."

"No pressure!" the priestess interjected quickly, hoping to deter this whole idea. "You must have your hands full running a nice place like this."

Grillby seemed to consider to himself briefly before the flames on top of his head danced. "... .... ..... ...... i will go. it will be dark. without light."

"cool." Sans seemed far more pleased with this than she did. He raised his ketchup bottle with a wide smile, as if offering a toast. "looks like we got a party then."

"I'm going."

The sudden, gruff declaration came from the far side of the room, effectively pulling all the attention there. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when her gaze landed on the dog monster with the seemingly-permanent suspicious and distrusting look on his face.

"uh..." Even Sans' smile faltered a little. "doggo, buddy, i don't know how to put this, but... you'd have a _ruff_ time. you can only see movin' things."

The monster called Doggo crossed his burly, furry arms. "I don't give a damn. Someone has to watch that human and you're all too blind to see the danger."

She stared. Did he just... exhale smoke from a _dog bone_?

Sans put his ketchup back down on the counter, not looking as chipper as he had just a few moments ago. "look, a party isn't gonna work out if they can't work together. you'd be one hell of a party _pooper_ , and that's not just a jo--"

He ceased speaking abruptly, blinking at the finger that the priestess was holding up to shush him. She straightened, and made sure she was moving her head slightly so the dog monster could see her. "I don't see a problem with it. If he doesn't trust me and would feel better about coming along to watch out for you guys, I have no objections."

They held each other's stares for a little while until Doggo finally looked away. "Good," he muttered in a growl.

"kid, i thought ya had a problem with this whole thing?" She whirled back around on the stool. Sans looked surprised. But as usual, he couldn't seem to pass up the opportunity for a pun. "finally having some common _sans_?"

Her eyebrows quirked upward with a slight curl of her lips. "Wasn't gonna stop you anyway, was I?"

"heh."

Her smile gradually faded back to neutral. There was a bigger issue now. "This is... a lot of people to have in a party and keep track of. And I admit I have no experience in supporting large parties. It's also going to be difficult for us all not to attract attention with so many."

"ya got a point," the skeleton agreed with a sigh. He faced the two white dogs in the matching robes. "dogamy, dogaressa, would ya mind sittin' this one out?"

"I know how to sit on command!" Dogamy proudly stated.

"Hey, so do I!" Dogaressa chimed, shoulder bumping up against the dog beside her.

"great, you two sit, then." They promptly dropped down to the floor and did so, and half-covering her mouth was all the priestess could do not to snort. "there'll be other adventures another time. besides, someone's gotta keep an eye on snowdin while we're gone. y'know. make sure bad humans don't get in."

"We got it covered!"

"Once a guard dog, always a guard dog!"

"problem solved," Sans said, turning back to the counter.

She had to admit that she was at least a little impressed. It would have been hard for her to deny those puppy dog eyes of excitement. To Sans, the diversion looked like it was second nature and hardly took a thought. She spared him a hint of a smile before she finally took a bite of the waiting food.

It did indeed have a little spicy kick to it, but whether it was the hunger speaking for her or not, the food was incredible. She had to swallow down several forkfuls before she could even relay her opinion. "Wow, this is amazing!"

"told ya grillbz has the best food around."

She beamed to the fiery cook behind the counter. "Thank you! I haven't had a meal like this in... I can't even remember, to be honest. It's delicious."

Did he looke a little... embarrassed? It really was hard to tell.

".... ...... ..... you're welcome."

Holding the smile for him just a little longer to relay her appreciation, she then hastily dug back into the meal without further comment. It was a generous portion, too. And to think that he offered this to her even though she was human---some monsters really didn't discriminate. It was heart-warming.

"by the way, kid, what do ya even plan to go into that tower for?"

The question made her pause, chewing slowly before swallowing. "It's strange, but... it's a feeling. A feeling that I need to go there. Like something in there is calling to me."

Sans was quiet for awhile, letting her take another helping of the pasta before he spoke up. "ya know what's underneath that tower, right?"

She nodded solemnly. "Geffenia. The ancient city."

"got ties to the magic families in geffen or somethin'?"

The priestess paused, thinking for a moment, and then shook her head. "Not that I know of? It's more... there's a presence there. I have treated people who ventured deep beneath the tower before, back when I was still at Prontera Parish. They were haunted by something. Changed. Almost like they were--"

"cursed?" he finished for her.

"Not exactly. It was like they had fallen into a deep chasm of self-loathing. Some even became suicidal and had to be detained. It was like they lost their sense of self," she clarified. "And I think that whatever may be down there might have something that I'm looking for, as well."

To her surprise, Sans didn't question her any further on the matter. He seemed to be busy staring a hole through his ketchup container instead. She reluctantly went back to eating, even feeling that the air between them had thinned out a bit to something less comfortable.

"kinda curious about what's livin' down there myself," he finally said. "monsters used to live in geffenia too. a long time ago."

"They're still there," she informed him plainly. "The levels of what they now call a dungeon are crawling with them."

Sans shook his head slowly. "it's similar to glast heim. the monsters that live down there now have been corrupted and their souls tainted. most of what's down there isn't even corporeal anymore. and they don't care what's human or monster."

She was about to reply, but stopped short, her brows furrowing inward. "...Have you been there recently? But that's not possible, because---"

The cold pit re-opened in her stomach and stretched wide. She abruptly stood up from the stool.

"This isn't going to work," she stated, voice low. "...I have to go alone."

Sans swiftly whirled around to face her. "what? hey--wait a sec, kid. i thought we already figured this--"

"You can't go there. None of you can." She was sure that Grillby and Doggo were probably listening now, too, but she kept her eyes on Sans. "We forgot something very important."

The skeleton monster blinked his eye sockets in confusion. "we forgot what?"

She lowered her head slightly, looking at her vacated stool. "Sans, it's in _Geffen_. The tower is in the center of the city."

His bone brows lowered for a moment before they raised in realization. "ah. the seals."

The priestess sighed, her shoulders slouching forward. "You guys can't pass into a human city. You're blocked out by powerful magic. And if you can't get into Geffen, you certainly can't get into the tower."

"..... ...... ......... there may be another way."

Her head snapped back up at the same time Sans' did. "Huh?"

The flaming man raised a flickering hand of fire to point at the priestess. ".... ....... ...... you have a skill that can help pass boundaries. i know of it."

"What? But my skills are for---" Her confusion melted quickly when it dawned on her. She hadn't even thought of that! "Oh! A warp portal!"

Grillby nodded.

"heh, that's right. grillbz grouped up with some humans back in the day. nice thinkin', buddy."

"You did?" Her eyes were wide as she stared into his glasses. Somehow, it didn't register to her how long that many of these monsters had probably lived. Like her great-great-great grandfather, they remembered a time when humans and monsters lived together. Peacefully.

Perhaps it was no longer surprising why Grillby had treated her with such warmth, then.

...And she was not going to acknowledge that unintentional pun.

"..... ....... .... it will be an honor. to work with a priest again."

She blushed, giggling awkwardly at the idea of it being considered an honor. She was far from deserving of that. She was a greenhorn as far as real experience went. "I'm sure that whoever you worked with before must have been a lot better than me. But I'll do my best to keep everyone safe."

"Hmph," Doggo grouched from the corner.

Sans cleared his throat---or lack thereof. "now that that's settled, when are we gonna get this party started?"

"Hmm..." She tried to call to mind what she knew about the tower from both books and Prontera rumors and chatter. "I don't know how accurate the information is, but I believe the tower is closed late at night after the bell tower chimes. They believe this is when the monsters---the spirits are most active and the most dangerous. It would be a risk, but that is the only time we are unlikely to run into groups of humans venturing inside."

"sounds good to me," sans shrugged, his smile easy-going and unperturbed by the warning. "nightfall it is."

"Sans, _please_ take this seriously," she implored, hands on her hips. "You said yourself that the monsters and spirits in there don't even differentiate between human and monster. _Everyone_ will be in danger. We need to prepare properly."

"I can take care of myself," Doggo barked unkindly from behind, clearly offended.

...She wasn't going to win this, was she? Even now, Sans was just grinning in that infuriatingly unconcerned way of his.

"Ugh, _fine_ ," she acquiesced. "But I have to get back to Geffen and memorize an area to portal to. Without anyone seeing me. We're technically not _allowed_ to portal into dungeons." She looked down at Sans. "I know you can't teleport to Geffen, but if you can teleport me near it, that's good enough."

"got ya covered," he winked.

"Okay. Then..." She looked around the establishment. Aside from Doggo's narrowed gaze, the rest of the occupants were smiling or at least appearing to be completely at ease now---even with a human like her in their presence. How had things changed so quickly?

"We're really doing this?" she asked no one in particular.

"yup," Sans supplied from her right, messily slurping ketchup.

The priestess released an uncertain sigh. She was going to have her hands full with this group, no doubt. Grillby looked like he could take care of himself, but Sans and Doggo...

Well, who knows? They might surprise her.

And to think that her first time partying would actually be partying with _monsters_...

In truth, she wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Party get! :) 
> 
> Next time, our odd team of monsters + one human will make their way into Geffen dungeon!

**Author's Note:**

> Where's Sans, you ponder...?
> 
> Stay tuned. ;)


End file.
